Bryan A. VanGronigen

Assistant Professor

Dr. Bryan A. VanGronigen is Assistant Professor of Education specializing in Educational Leadership in the School of Education at the University of Delaware. His overarching research focus is on organizational resilience and change management in K-12 schools with specific interest areas in school improvement efforts, the preparation of educational leaders, and educational policy analyses. Within the first interest area, he examines state education agencies’ capacity to improve underperforming schools, external providers of school improvement services, school improvement planning, and schoolwide leadership teams. Within the second interest area, he works on projects exploring the structures, coherence, and influence of learning experiences in educational leadership preparation programs. Within the third interest area, he is co-leading a series of studies exploring the structures, members, and work of U.S. state boards of education.

His research has been published in journals such as the American Journal of Education, Educational Policy, Journal of Research on Leadership Education, Teachers College Record, and Urban Education and in practitioner outlets such as the federally funded Center on School Turnaround. States like Alabama, Indiana, and Utah have incorporated his work on school improvement planning into their theories of action and supports for underperforming schools.

As a member of the Ed.D. core faculty group, Dr. VanGronigen teaches courses on evidence-informed decision-making, qualitative and mixed data collection and analysis methods, leadership theory and practice, and preparing the Educational Leadership Portfolio.

Educational Background

• Ph.D., K-12 Educational Administration and Supervision, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia, 2019.
• M.Ed., Higher Education Administration, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, 2011.
• B.S.Ed., Secondary Social Studies Education, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 2009.

Professional Experience

• Assistant Professor of Education, School of Education, University of Delaware, 2019–present.
• Dean of Education, American Legion Boys State of Missouri, 2017–present.
• Social Sciences Department Chair and School Leadership Team Member, Hilton Head Preparatory School, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 2013–2015.
• Social Sciences Teacher, Hilton Head Preparatory School, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, 2011–2015.

Recent Professional Awards

• Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee, University of Delaware, 2023
• Emerging Scholar Award Nominee, American Educational Research Association (AERA)
  Division A, 2023
• Dissertation of the Year, AERA Leadership for School Improvement Special Interest Group, 2020
• Jessie C. Carpenter Scholar, University of Virginia, 2019–2020
• Mary Catherine Ellwein Scholar, University of Virginia, 2018–2019
• Frank E. Flora Scholar in Educational Administration, University of Virginia, 2018–2019