Board of Trustees

Board Chairman

Member: Executive and Nominating Committees

Dr. Ken Craycraft earned his bachelor’s degree from Sam Houston State University, master’s degree from Stephen F. Austin State University, and doctorate from Indiana University. Dr. Craycraft joined American College of Education in July 2010 after a long and distinguished career in higher education. Prior to joining ACE, he served for ten years as the Chief Academic Officer for the Texas State University System (TSUS). In that capacity, he had oversight of all curriculum-related programs of the member institutions; worked closely with the Board of Regents’ diversity, curriculum, strategic planning, and technology committees; and coordinated presidential searches. Before joining the System in 2000, Dr. Craycraft was the Dean of the College of Education and Applied Science at Sam Houston State University. 

Following his formal education, Dr. Craycraft joined the faculty of Bowling Green State University and later returned to Sam Houston State University, his alma mater, as an associate professor. He rose to the rank of professor prior to leaving to join the TSUS office as a Vice Chancellor. He began working in higher education administration in 1983.

Over the years, Dr. Craycraft has authored or co-authored more than 30 articles, 7 books, and numerous grants. He has served as president of several professional organizations at the state and national levels and has consulted for the U.S. Department of Education.

Vice Chairman
Chairman and Founder, Center for the Reform of School Systems

Dr. Donald R. McAdams earned his B.A. from Columbia Union College in Maryland and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Duke University. Dr. McAdams founded the Center for Reform of School Systems (CRSS), a not-for-profit Texas corporation, which provides governance training and advisory services for urban school boards. He is a nationally recognized authority on school district governance and is a frequent speaker and widely published author on school reform in America. Dr. McAdams served for 12 years as a member of the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education, serving twice as board president. Teachers College Press published his first book, Fighting to Save Our Urban Schools... and Winning! Lessons from Houston in 2000 and his second book, What School Boards Can Do: Reform Governance for Urban Schools in January 2006. His most recent book, The Redesign of Urban School Districts: Case Studies in Urban School Governance, 1990-2011, will be issued from Harvard University Press in 2013. Dr. McAdams has been a research professor at the University of Houston; President of McAdams, Faillace & Associates, Inc; Executive Vice President of the American Productivity and Quality Center; and President of the Texas Independent College Fund. From 1975-1984, he was President of Southwestern Adventist College. Earlier, he was associate professor of history and acting chairman of the Department of History at Andrews University.

U.S. Navy and the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff

Admiral Thomas B. Hayward retired in 1982 from the United States Navy as Chief of Naval Operations and a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His distinguished 39-year military career included extensive combat in Korea and Vietnam as a carrier aviator. He was commanding officer of the aircraft carrier USS America, Commander of the United States Seventh Fleet, and Commander in Chief of the United States Pacific Fleet, receiving numerous national and international awards.

Adm. Hayward was a co-founder and vice chairman of Voyager Expanded Learning, an educational services company. He subsequently served as a founding advisor and board member to Whitney International University System and Academic Partnerships. He established Hayward Associates, a consulting firm specializing in international business development. He has served on several boards of directors and is vice chairman of the Pacific Forum/CSIS, a member of the U.S.-Japan Leadership Council, and former chairman of the Ethics Resource Center. He also served as chairman of the National Security Advisory Council of Stanford Research Institute.

Admiral Hayward is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy and holds a master’s degree in International Affairs from George Washington University.

Harvard Graduate School of Education

Dr. Deborah Jewell-Sherman, Harvard University Graduate School of Education, co-directed Harvard’s Urban Superintendent Program and now guides students in the University’s Doctor of Education Leadership program. Prior to joining Harvard, Dr. Jewell-Sherman worked with the Richmond, Virginia, public schools, serving as Superintendent from 2002-2008. Under her leadership the Richmond Public Schools became recognized nationally as a “Flagship” district. Previously, she served as an elementary school principal and taught English, mathematics, and computer science. Dr. Jewell-Sherman has both an Ed.D. and an M.A. from Harvard, both in Administration, Planning and Social Policy, an M.A. from Kean College in Educational Administration, and a B.S. from New York University in Elementary Education.

Harvard University Graduate School of Education

Robert Peterkin is Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and former Director of the Urban Superintendents Program there. Prior to Harvard, Peterkin was the Superintendent of Schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Cambridge, Massachusetts. His early career as a special education teacher and principal before serving in several central office positions in the Boston Public Schools informed his commitment to serving all students at high levels, including those traditionally “at the margins.”  Peterkin is a national expert on school desegregation and served for seven years as the federal court-appointed monitor for a school district consent decree. His continuing leadership in education includes heading transition teams for numerous entering superintendents, most recently in Chicago, Illinois; Montgomery County, Maryland; Santa Fe, New Mexico; and Buffalo, New York and advising the New Jersey Superintendents Network, dedicated to transforming public schools by focusing on the instructional core. Peterkin holds a doctorate in education from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. He received the Chancellor’s Medal from the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2002 and the Effie H. Jones Humanitarian Award from the AASA, honoring educational equity and excellence in 2006.

Former Secretary of Education, U.S. Department of Education

Dr. Rod Paige earned his B.S. from Jackson State University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Indiana University. During his tenure as U.S. Secretary of Education, Dr. Paige was a stalwart supporter of improving the way that students learn on all levels and setting standards of achievement. Dr. Paige made history by becoming the first school superintendent to be named Secretary of Education. While serving as superintendent of the Houston Independent School District, the seventh largest school district in the U.S., he was honored as National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of School Administrators. Dr. Paige served for a decade as dean of the College of Education at Texas Southern University (TSU) in Houston, Texas, where he worked to ensure that future educators receive the training and expertise necessary to succeed in the classroom. He also established the University’s Center for Excellence in Urban Education, a research facility that concentrates on issues related to instruction and management in urban school systems. Dr. Paige speaks frequently to educators across the country and emphasizes, “Civilizations rise and fall depending on the quality of education.”