University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service second-year students Rachel Cole and Beth Quarles have been awarded a grant from the B.A. Rudolph Foundation for their study on teacher leadership in Arkansas.
The B.A. Rudolph Foundation awards sponsorship and grand funds annually to support people, organizations, groups, events, projects, and programs that embody the mission and values of the foundation. Foundation namesake B.A. Rudolph graduated from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, in 1978 and was a member of Bill Clinton’s gubernatorial and presidential staffs.
The grant will support Cole and Quarles in developing a landscape analysis and conduct a needs assessment for teacher leadership and pipeline programs in Arkansas.
“Thank you to the B.A. Rudolph Foundation for this generous support,” Cole and Quarles said. “As former teachers we were surprised to discover there are many different teacher leadership programs around the state of Arkansas. This study will offer a valuable resource to women who are underrepresented in K-12 school leadership.”
The study will explore the gender disparity in K-12 school leadership and why the public school teaching force in the United State is 72 percent female but just 14 percent of district superintendents are women. The grant will result in resources for others to use in their search for leadership programs, particularly women and women of color who would like to gain the skills, knowledge, and capacity to serve in leadership roles.
“Like B.A., Beth and Rachel are committed to equity and this project is in service to strengthening and diversifying the leadership pipeline of women in Arkansas schools,” said Mary Bruce, executive director of the B.A. Rudolph Foundation. “We are proud to support Beth and Rachel as rising female leaders in the public sector.”
B.A. was a friend of mine and her legacy of leadership and public service continues through the great work of the foundation,” said Clinton School dean James L. “Skip” Rutherford III. “I believe B.A. would be thrilled knowing Beth and Rachel have received support for this important study.”