The Doctor of Education degree (Ed.D.) in educational leadership program at Cal State San Bernardino has been accepted to participate in the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education Holmes Program, which supports racially and ethnically diverse students pursuing graduate degrees in education.

The AACTE Holmes Program was founded in 1991 for doctoral students, providing mentorship, peer support, and professional development opportunities. CSUSB becomes one of nearly 50 institutions in the program.

The American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE) represents more than 800 postsecondary institutions with educator preparation programs dedicated to high-quality, evidence-based preparation that assures educators are ready to teach all learners.

“We are thrilled to have CSUSB participate in the AACTE Holmes Program. Their involvement reflects their unwavering commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Weadé James, AACTE director of development and research. “We are confident that this collaboration will provide the graduate students at CSUSB with a resourceful community to meet their unique needs as diverse scholars and future education leaders.”

CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales said the Ed.D. program’s selection into the Holmes Program was well-deserved and will go a long way to helping students in the university’s College of Education (COE).

“This is terrific news and recognition of the exceptional caliber of our Ed.D. program crafted by the outstanding work of our faculty, staff and administrators,” said Morales. “The program is dedicated to the success of our doctoral candidates and graduating a diverse group of educators and administrators for the inland region.”

A joint statement from the CSUSB Ed.D. program leaders said, “We are excited to have been approved to have the AACTE Holmes Scholars Program at CSUSB to better provide an environment of support to underrepresented students enrolled in our doctoral program in educational leadership.”

COE Dean Chinaka DomNwachukwu, who served as the AACTE Global Diversity chair for three years, said the program will be a great help to CSUSB doctoral students.

“The Holmes program provides opportunities for our Ed.D. candidates to network with other doctoral students across the nation, engage in collaborative research activities, and tap into multiple resources that AACTE offers,” DomNwachukwu said. “During each AACTE annual conference, the Holmes Scholars have their own day when they gather the scholars for research presentations and engagement.” 

CSUSB becomes both the first public university in California and the first Ed.D. program in the CSU system in the Holmes Program, said Enrique Murillo Jr., director of the CSUSB Ed.D. program and a professor of teacher education and foundation.

“The launching of our CSUSB Holmes Program is prestigious news for us,” said Murillo. “We have become a premiere and top-respected educational leadership program in the Inland Empire and Southern California, and now by being in the program, we hope to develop a strong state and national reputation in our goal to be a model for others to cultivate diverse, transformational educational leaders.”

Murillo added that the College of Education has been an AACTE member and participating institution for many years and though the Holmes Program has existed since 1991, the college’s Ed.D. program has not been in the program until now.

The CSUSB Ed.D. program, which was launched in 2007, has graduated more than 100 Doctors of Education. Program graduates tend to be mostly senior-level professionals and leaders in all levels of education from K-12 to colleges and universities.

A Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) is a professional degree designed for practitioners pursuing educational leadership roles. Ed.D. candidates study about different educational and leadership styles in real-world settings and explore policy at the local, state, national and international levels. In due course of the program, they learn how to lead and effect change throughout the educational and organizational systems. Students are encouraged to identify a field-based problem of practice for their dissertation research.

To learn more, visit the CSUSB Doctor of Education Degree Program website.

The Ed.D. program will be developing an application and selection process for fall 2021. Inquiries about the Holmes Program at CSUSB can be directed to the Holmes Program institution coordinator and doctoral program specialist, Audrey Baca Lopez, at audrey.baca@csusb.edu.