Dr. Chris Cook, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction and director of the of Middle Grades Education program at Appalachian State University’s Reich College of Education, has been accepted into the 2017-18 Chancellor's Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP).
ALDP, which began in the spring of 2016 and has since graduated two classes, provides development opportunities for department chairs, assistant chairs and academic administrators, preparing them for leadership and management roles at Appalachian and beyond.
The program objectives are:
- To allow faculty and staff to explore the requirements of academic leadership to determine if their interests and capabilities align;
- To help faculty develop a support network of fellow administrators;
- To educate future leaders as to the evolving nature of higher education;
- To educate and train future academic leaders in the organizational structure, financing, and operations of ASU and the North Carolina University System; and
- To become a means through which ASU's leadership culture is developed and enhanced.
About what he hopes to gain from participating in the program, Cook said:
The opportunity to interact and learn firsthand from other leaders across the university campus, examine and study leadership models, and engage in self-reflection about my own leadership skills will be invaluable. I am confident participating in the ALDP will allow me to reflect on my individual strengths and weaknesses to gain comfort with the complexities of higher education leadership and further prepare me to be successful.
Cook is an Appalachian alumnus, having earned both his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Middle Grades Education. After teaching middle school for six years, he earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of North Carolina Greensboro. In addition, Cook serves as the immediate past chair of the Middle Level Education Research Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association.
Cook’s current research and teaching interests focus on effective middle grades practices, current implementation of the “middle school concept” and middle grades teacher preparation. His work has been published in middle grades journals, such as the Middle Grades Research Journal, Middle School Journal, Research in Middle Level Education Online, and Current Issues in Middle Level Education.
Chris Cook
