Virginia Tech’s Educational Leadership Program Trains Future Leaders

Wednesday, July 25, 2018

Virginia Tech’s Educational Leadership Program Trains Future Leaders

The former superintendent of Westmoreland County Public Schools, Rebecca Lowry, PhD, serves as a school psychologist with Cumberland Therapies outside of Dayton, Ohio. An alumna of Bluefield College with a BA in music and Radford University with an MS in school psychology, Dr. Rebecca Lowry received her PhD in educational leadership from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University before becoming a superintendent.

In existence for more than 40 years, the Educational Leadership Program at Virginia Tech is available at not only the main campus in Blacksburg, but five extension campuses throughout Virginia as well. The land-grant institution takes its duties seriously to train educational leaders for the Commonwealth of Virginia by strengthening their leadership skills to drive improved student performance.

Virginia’s commitment to its educational leaders pays off, with the state retaining approximately 30 percent of Virginia Tech Educational Leadership graduates as public school superintendents. Graduates of the program also function in other capacities in Virginia’s public education system, including as principals, university presidents and faculty members, researchers, and members of state boards of education.

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About Me

A former school district superintendent with nearly 15 years of educational administration experience, Rebecca Lowry holds a master’s degree in school psychology from Radford University as well as a doctor of education in educational leadership from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Rebecca Lowry worked as a special needs educator early in her career before gaining leadership experience within the Cleveland Municipal School District (CMSD) that would prepare her for the position of superintendent.

In 2001, Dr. Lowry was hired by CMSD as executive director of secondary and post-secondary education and helped improve student enrollment in early college education programs. She later served as deputy chief of post-secondary education and chief academic officer, before accepting a leadership position with Dayton Public Schools. From 2009 to 2011, she worked as assistant superintendent with Pennsylvania's Chichester School District. It was here that she instituted educational audits which enabled schools to meet federal and state requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act.

She most recently completed a four-year period as superintendent of Virginia's Westmoreland County Public Schools, where she managed a school system of nearly 2,000 students as well as an annual budget of $18 million. She left the post in 2015 and relocated to Ohio, where she continues to offer her expertise in school psychology and educational leadership to a local school district.