Contact: Camille Carskadon
STARKVILLE, Miss.—The dean of Mississippi State’s College of Education is taking part this summer in an elite Harvard University professional development experience designed to help higher education administrators master new approaches to leadership.
Richard Blackbourn is a selection for Harvard Graduate School of Education’s Institute for Management and Leadership in Education. He will join other senior administrators from around the world June 16-28 for the two-week, on-campus program.
The MLE program accepts experienced higher education administrators from a variety of academic disciplines.
“I am extremely excited to have an opportunity to enhance my leadership skills by working with such esteemed colleagues. Fellow participants possess unique insights, and it should be fun to learn from one another,” Blackbourn said.
“My hope is to gain an understanding of the challenges that confront these leaders and the varied strategies they might employ to address them,” he said.
A three-degree alumnus of MSU, Blackbourn is completing his 14th year as dean. He previously served as both a teacher and principal in Mississippi public school systems and held teaching and administrative posts at the University of Louisiana-Monroe and Clemson University.
During his tenure at Mississippi State, Blackbourn has chaired the Council of Southeastern Conference Education Deans, served as president of the Mississippi Association of Colleges of Teacher Education, and was co-principal investigator on a $42 million proposal that established the Mississippi Excellence in Teaching Program. In 2015, Blackbourn was ranked among the top 30 most influential deans of education in the United States by Beaumont, Texas-based Mometrix Test Preparation.
Blackbourn’s late father, Joe M. Blackbourn, also was a longtime MSU education faculty member.
Established in 1903, MSU’s College of Education is home to six academic departments, one research unit and numerous service units. For more about the college, visit www.educ.msstate.edu.
MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.