Janet Hindman, Ed.D.
Professor of Educational Leadership
Dyke Rogers Professor of Educational Leadership
Director of Leadership in Higher Education Ed.D. Program
Office: Harrington Academic Hall 316D
Email: jhindman@wtamu.edu
Phone: 806-651-2615
Professional Profile
Dr. Hindman joined the College of Education and Social Sciences in 2012. Prior to her appointment, Hindman achieved over 35+ years in practical field experience in Texas public schools, including 28 years of teaching and coaching in nine different school systems, as an education specialist for a regional service center, and assistant superintendent in a suburban school district. She served on two Adoption Review Panels for the Texas Education Agency for state adoptions of Language Arts materials for Texas teachers. Upon receiving her principal certification, Hindman served as an adjunct professor in two other higher education institutions for over ten years. Hindman’s career has enabled her to work with hundreds of principals, superintendents, teachers, students, their families, and educational leaders across the broad spectrum of education.
During her educational career, Hindman has led people and programs through leadership positions in both higher education and public education. With a focus upon innovation, creativity, and the “bigger picture,” Hindman has served in leadership roles in higher education as both associate and adjunct professor, department head, director, faculty senator and faculty senate vice-president, grant writer, staff developer, and consultant. She has led as advisor and co-counselor of Kappa Delta Pi, International Honor Society in Education for over ten years, served as a member of the Finance Committee for WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World, and continues to support the National Writing Project. For leadership in public education, Hindman has held leadership roles as assistant superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction, special/federal, and gifted and talented programs, grant writer, district testing coordinator, and homeless liaison. Hindman has also served as a secondary high school English Advanced Placement and Fine Arts teacher for many years, a UIL Ready Writing and girls’ athletic coach, a consultant and AP Reader for the College Board, and as an Education Specialist in Title I/SCE and Secondary Language Arts/Advanced Placement for Region 16 Education Service Center.
Hindman’s proudest professional achievements include being appointed as a Fulbright Scholar to Japan, being selected as one of two educators from Texas (a total of 200 were selected, two from each state in the U.S. out of 4800 applicants) where she studied Eastern educational systems; being a co-author along with Dr. Judy Williams of the successful proposal for the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) degree for West Texas A&M University [approved by The Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and SACSCOC] that was launched in January 2019; being named for the Faculty Excellence in Instructional Responsibilities Award of the College of Education and Social Sciences; and serving as the department head of education for four years (2018-2022).
Hindman received both her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Secondary Education (English and Art) and Masters of Art (M.A.) in English (with a Minor in Art) from West Texas State University. First beginning her doctoral work on a Ph.D. of English at the University of North Texas, Hindman later transferred to Texas Tech University to earn her doctorate in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) in 2010 with English as a Related Field. She received Curriculum Management Solutions, Inc. audit training through TASA in Austin, Texas, and Tucson, Arizona and has served as both an intern and Associate Auditor for two of the largest independent school districts in Texas.
Teaching and Related Service
Dr. Hindman has spent a lifetime teaching, leading, and investing her knowledge, gifts, and skills in the lives of young people as an advocate for all students. Dr. Hindman has taught undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate courses, has served as a both a faculty senator and faculty senate vice president, as co-counselor of student organizations, and has led in the development of multiple graduate and undergraduate degree programs. As department head, Dr. Hindman restructured department leadership into an innovative Team Lead model and implemented several state grant initiatives for continuous, research-based improvement. Before her appointment to WT, Dr. Hindman’s teaching service included courses in Research Design and Methods, Masterpieces of American/British/Multicultural Literature, Shakespeare, Poetry, and other courses for Wayland Baptist University and Frank Phillips College.
Dr. Hindman teaches doctoral-level courses in the Educational Leadership program and chairs candidates’ scholarly delivery committees. Courses include ethical and moral leadership, power, myth, memes, and scholarly delivery. Hindman works with doctoral candidates in conducting their own research of educational leaders in higher and rural education, ethics, and other areas of research interest. Currently, Dr. Hindman serves as the director of leadership in higher education and has taught in the Ed.D. program since its inception while also serving as department head of education. She continues to write, direct, and manage federal, state, and local grant initiatives, to support the National Writing Project, to serve as a current auditor for Curriculum Management Solutions, Inc. of Ohio, and to serve on the Advisory Board for Shane Hall Financial LLC.
Dr. Hindman has presented her research at local, regional, state, national, and international conferences, events, and workshops, and has both sole and collaborative publications in a wide variety of academic journals. As an active and prolific grant writer, Hindman serves as a principal, co-investigator, and grant manager for current federal, state, and local grants and as a co-lead on a national grant. She mentors and supports fellow colleagues in their pursuit of grant awards and grant activities.
Research and Creative Activity
Hindman’s research interests includes all things leadership and writing, including: leadership in higher education and rural education, democracy in schools, adaptive leadership, gifted education, design thinking and chaos theory, creative writing, fine arts and literature, writing, assessment, and innovation in education.
Hindman is a current member of the Amarillo Art Institute, American Educational Research Association (AERA), Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), Association of Teacher Educators (ATE), BIRKMAN International Inc., Consortium of State Organizations for Texas Teacher Education (CSOTTE), Kappa Delta Pi (KDP), the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE), Panhandle School Leaders Association (PSLA), Phi Delta Kappa (PDK), Shane Hall Financial Advisory Council, Texas Association of School Administrators (TASA), Texas Association of Teacher Educators (TXATE), Texas Computer Education Association (TCEA), Texas Council of Professors in Educational Administration (TCPEA), and the University Council of Educational Leadership (UCEA).