Edgewood College embraces learning that welcomes aspiring leaders from various disciplines and workplaces. Whether you are a higher education professional, non-profit leader, business executive, or K12 educator, our cohort model will support and challenge you through your coursework. A Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) allows for a practical approach to research that encourages you to apply what you are learning to challenges within your field.
The Doctoral Completion Program offers support, expert guidance, and a trusting community of learners to produce scholarly researchers, academic writers, and Edgewood College leaders.
We emphasize four key components with our students:
Our program allows you to choose your topic and your Edgewood faculty dissertation chair. Your chair will help you to form the remainder of your dissertation committee.
Our graduates advance to become college presidents and administrators, K12 superintendents and leaders, and non-profit champions. Each student leaves with strong research skills as both a consumer and practitioner, values-based leadership skills, and the knowledge to lead strategically.
Educational Leadership, Doctoral Completion Program, Ed.D.
Educational Leadership, K-12 Educational Leadership, Ed.D.
Education, Superintendent/District Leadership, Licensing
Subject-matter experts who work in the field of study instruct the content courses. These professionals bring a timely and global view to content material.
Full-time Ph.D. research faculty with experience in publishing and R1 research instruct our research courses.
Our Academic Writing Specialist instructs the dissertation writing courses to guide students through the proper academic style and tone.
Suzanne serves as the Director of the EdD and MA Educational Leadership programs. She leads the EdD Research and Writing Center by coordinating consultation and academic writing programming. She is also a Sr. Lecturer who teaches courses in both the Higher Education and Leadership Studies and Doctoral Completion concentrations. Suzanne’s research interests focus on gender inclusive leadership, ethical leadership, and ethical leadership development. She brings over 20 years teaching experience that spans from 6th grade to post-secondary education and in diverse settings. She is a first-generation student who earned her BA from the College of St. Benedict, her MA from Cardinal Stritch University, and her EdD from Edgewood College.
Brian S. Busler is a recently retired school superintendent from Oregon School District and has over thirty-five years of experience as an administrator. He holds an undergraduate degree in Finance and a master’s degree in Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. In 1992, he earned a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis. His researched focused on strategic planning, decision-making and school culture. He has taught graduate classes at Edgewood College and other universities for the past thirty years. His public-school experiences include improving educational outcomes for all students, leading numerous school/community planning sessions, advancing equity work, leading school referenda and construction projects, mentoring and training school administrators and a special interest of serving as a Schools of Hope mentor in his previous district. In his free time, you can find him spending time with his wife and adult children, training on his bicycle and fly fishing in Wisconsin and Montana.
Melinda Verdone, Ed.D. is an experienced higher education professional with a strong focus on supporting first-year, first-generation, and diverse student populations. With an Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Edgewood College, Madison, WI, her research focused on the stress experienced by first-year students in graduate-level health care professional programs. She also holds an M.A.Ed. in Teaching and Learning, also from Edgewood College, and an M.S. in Microbiology from Northern Illinois University. She is certified as a Project Management Professional (PMP) by the Project Management Institute and holds Illinois Professional Educator and Wisconsin Initial Educator Licenses. Melinda has experience in a variety of teaching and administrative capacities in higher education, including Associate Dean, Academic Program Manager, Educational Specialist, and Faculty.
Dr. Reno D. Wright is a native of Detroit, MI and has over 20 years of professional leadership and training experience in Workforce Development, Human Services, and Adult Education. His research interests include traditional versus historical critical interpretive methods used in Christian Education; Black Church history; Black Liberation, Womanist, and Queer theologies; Queer Theory; and the intersectionality of race, gender, and sexual orientation and identity. He earned his Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Communication at Michigan State University, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) and Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Ecumenical Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.) at Edgewood College. Dr. Wright is passionate about social justice, the exploration of systems that have historically marginalized individuals, and empowerment through education. He is also a pastor at Grace United Church of Christ in Milwaukee, WI.
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