Journal of Rural Educational Leadership Editorial Team
H. H. (Buddy) Hooper Jr., Ed.D.
Co-Editor
Associate Professor
Core Faculty Member for the Ed.D. Program
Dr. Hooper is an Associate Professor and faculty member of the Ed.D. program. He has 30 plus years of rural experience as a secondary teacher, principal (all-levels), superintendent in Texas and Kansas, and department chair/doctoral program director. Additionally, he has been actively involved in the American Council on Rural Special Education (ACRES) as well as serving as “Chair” for the organization in 2013-2014. ACRES is an organization committed to the enhancement of services to students and individuals living in rural America. Dr. Hooper earned his Ed.D. from Texas A&M University – Commerce with strands in educational leadership, higher education, and agriculture. His published research has centered on rural leadership and rural leadership traits with an emphasis on district level leadership in the public school and higher education settings. Additionally, he has experience traveling to other countries like India, Chile, Taiwan, and Mexico to conduct rural research and provide professional development. His most recent work includes serving as a university professor as well as a school administrator in the rural Alaskan Bush. He teaches courses related to higher education and leadership.
Dr. Janet Hindman
Co-Editor
Professor in Educational Leadership
Dr. Hindman received both her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Secondary Education (English and Art) and Master 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.
Hindman is Director of the Ed.D. Program in Higher Education. Joining the Terry B Rogers College of Education and Social Sciences in 2012 and 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. Hindman 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, Dr. 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 and rural settings.
Dr. Hindman 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, homeless liaison, and as an education specialist.
Dr. Hindman’s proudest professional achievements include being appointed as a Fulbright Scholar to Japan.
Dr. Hindman’s research interests includes leadership in higher education, rural education, and innovation. Hindman is a current member of 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).
Dr. Mark Garrison
Associate Editor
Professor of Education
Dr. Garrison is Professor of Education and Core Doctoral Research Faculty in 2019. He received both a B.A. and M.A. in Sociology from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York (1991, 1994, respectively) and in 2001 he received a Ph.D. in Social Foundations of Education, concentrating in the Sociology of Education, also from the University at Buffalo.
He teaches doctoral research methods courses, including Quantitative Research Methods, Data Analysis, and Mixed Method and is a nationally recognized education policy analyst and public intellectual focusing on the political, sociological, and philosophical aspects of public policy and education reform.
Dr. Garrison has authored over 50 manuscripts appearing in edited books, peer-reviewed journals, professional newsletters, and presentations at professional conferences. His scholarship has won national acclaim, including the 2011 American Education Studies Association Critic’s Choice Award and the 2010 CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title for his book, A Measure of Failure: The Political Origins of Standardized Testing (SUNY Press, 2009).
Dr. Vince Nix
Associate Editor
Assistant Professor and Core Research Methodologist
Jerry Vincent (Vince) Nix, Ph.D. serves as core doctoral research methodologist and tenure-track assistant professor for the College of Education and Social Sciences at West Texas A&M University. Vince began teaching online in 2007 and has served as a (visiting) assistant professor for seven different universities around the globe, earning the Outstanding Professor award at Yunnan University of Finance and Economics International Business School in 2009.
Dr. Nix has worked in administrative roles (VP over both academic and student affairs and interim president of a community college) most of his career and has extensive management and leadership experience in East Asia. Vince led teams for global advanced manufacturing facilities in four countries. Dr. Nix has served as a human resources development and organizational development consultant for global firms.
Vince earned a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Mississippi, then the master’s in leadership and Ph.D. in higher education administration both from the Washington State University. His core for that degree was student affairs, and the cognate was sociology. Vince was awarded Washington State University’s highest recognition, the President’s Award for excellence in student leadership development of multicultural populations and nontraditional students with at-risk characteristics.
Dr. Nix completed his dissertation research while living and working in China for six years. He conducts multimethod and mixed design research situated in an organizational institutionalism framework that draws from diverse academic fields including anthropology, economics, education, management, leadership, political science, psychology, and sociology. His broad research interests are formative assessment, the affective learning domain, and organizational emotions.