In the midst of Milligan College’s 150th anniversary year, the college’s leaders are not only looking to the past, but are building on the future of the college as well.
To that effect, Milligan College President Dr. Bill Greer announced during a special luncheon on Thursday that the school will be launching two new graduate programs in the field of education in Summer 2017 — a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) and Education Specialist (Ed.S.) Leveraging the strength of its teacher education and business faculty, as well as regional school partnerships, Milligan’s Ed.D. and Ed.S. programs will help lead currently practicing teachers toward certification as school administrators in two years.
“The environment of education is ever changing,” Greer said. “Our world needs transformative leaders in preK-12 education who are well-trained in organization and management. Both Milligan’s Ed.D. and Ed.S. programs are not only specifically designed to help meet that need and reflect Milligan’s Christian mission, but they are some of the most economical education programs in our region — even priced below the local state university.”
As he emphasized the need for more trained leaders in school systems around the world, Greer said in his opinion every great achievement made by anyone can be traced back to the influence of a teacher.
“I’ve seen the impact of great teachers in the lives of my own kids and in the many students here on the Milligan campus,” Greer said.
In addition to this year marking the college’s 150th anniversary, this year also marks the 25th year for Milligan’s Masters of Education program.
“I’m really delighted we are able to go back to one of our core programs and build on it,” Greer said.
Like Milligan’s distinguished Master of Education program, the college’s Ed.D. and Ed.S. programs have deep roots in regional school systems, where many Milligan alumni serve as teachers, coaches and administrators.
“Our programs were designed with the help of representatives from these local school districts who served on the planning committee,” said Dr. Lyn Howell, chair of Milligan’s Area of Education. “In addition, we truly value the strength of the mentored experience and each Ed.D. candidate will be assigned to a local, working administrative mentor — many of whom studied education at Milligan.”
One such Milligan alum, Director of Elizabethton City Schools Dr. Corey Gardenhour, shared his thoughts on the program during the luncheon.
“We’re not just looking to put leaders in the schools, we’re looking for people to move the students forward,” Gardenhour said.
Graduates of Milligan’s 24-30 month long Ed.D. program will be uniquely prepared to become principals and administrators in public and non-public school systems, nonprofits and government agencies, according to Greer.
The Ed.D. is a practice-based program built on a cohort learning model of approximately 10-20 candidates who progress through the program together. The Ed.S. allows candidates who don’t need a doctorate degree to develop a specialized knowledge with many of the same courses in the Ed.D. program, but without the requirement to write a dissertation.
The education area is accredited by the State of Tennessee and the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE). Both the Ed.D. and Ed.S. programs are pending accreditation by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). They have been approved by the State of Tennessee.
The application deadline is Feb. 13, 2017. Learn more at www.milligan.edu/edleadership.