Chapter 7: In Their Own Voice: Changed Educational Leaders Leading Educational Change: Changed Educational Leaders Leading Educational Change

After 50 years of providing undergraduate and master’s-level degree programs, the passage of California Senate Bill 724 (2005) granted California State University System (CSU) the right to offer the Doctorate in Educational Leadership. This important piece of legislation, codified in California Education Code § 66040 et seq., amended the unique California Master Plan for Higher Education, which provided an exception to the “differentiation of mission and function [between the University of California and the CSU], whereby doctoral . . . programs are limited to the University of California . . .” (California. Educ. Code § 66040(a)). California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) was one of the first CSU institutions to design a doctorate of educational leadership program, to offer the EdD degree, and to participate in the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED). The work with CPED transformed our newly minted EdD program —and while this chapter discusses this transformation—it more importantly describes the significance our EdD program has had on our graduates, educational leaders in the Central Valley of California, in their own words. Before we hear from our students, a bit of historical context is necessary.