Dr. Mark Furda has a broad range of educational experiences spanning 25 years. Dr. Furda has held virtually every administrative position in the K-12 setting and currently works as a professor of Graduate Education at the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Dr. Furda’s areas of expertise lie in leadership and school improvement. As a principal, Dr. Furda’s school was awarded the Schools of Promise Award from the Ohio Department of Education, an award given to high-poverty schools that perform at high levels. Later, he conducted research and completed his dissertation on “The Best Leadership Practices of Principals in High Performing and High Poverty Schools in Ohio.” Dr. Furda has worked with school districts in their improvement efforts, has conducted independent evaluations of principals in high-poverty, urban settings, and has presented on the topic of school leadership in Ohio and West Virginia.
- Ed.D. in Educational Leadership Studies, 2009. Dissertation topic: The Best Leadership Practices of Principals in High Performing and High Poverty Schools in Ohio. Minor area of study: Instructional Technology Design: West Virginia University
- M.S. in Educational Administration, 1999: Franciscan University of Steubenville
- B.S. in Education, 1990: The Ohio State University
- B.S. in Psychology, 1987: Slippery Rock University
- Certified Course Designer: Completed training and earned certificate for application of Quality Matters Course Design Rubric for the development of online courses.
- Online Instruction and Course Development: Responsible for development and subsequent revisions of fully online graduate courses via Blackboard learning management system. Experienced online course instructor.
- Superintendent Licensure: Currently hold an active Ohio Superintendent’s license.
- Ohio Teacher Evaluation Credential: Currently hold an Ohio certificate as a credentialed teacher evaluator.
