K-12 Administration Faculty

Lucas "Luke" Clamp, Ed.D.

Lucas “Luke” Clamp, Ed.D., is an Adjunct Professor in Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry and the principal of River Bluff High School in Lexington, South Carolina. In 2018, Clamp was selected as South Carolina’s Secondary Principal of the Year and then in the fall of 2019 was announced as the 2019 NASSP National Principal of the Year. Later that same year River Bluff was announced as South Carolina’s 2019 Palmetto’s Finest High School, awarded by SCASA through an intense evaluation process to the top high school annually in the state.

Katie Cunningham, Ph.D.

Kathleen Mary Winn Cunningham is an Assistant Professor of Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry in the Wardlaw College of Education at the University of South Carolina. Prior to her doctoral studies at the University of Iowa, she was a middle school teacher in Wisconsin. After earning her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies, she served as a postdoctoral research associate for the University Council for Educational Administration at the University of Virginia.

Baron Davis, Ph.D.

Baron Davis is Superintendent in Residence for the Education Specialist program in Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry. During his educational career, Davis has served as a successful school leader in rural, urban, and suburban school systems where his schools have been recognized for closing the achievement gap, increasing graduation rates, and increasing Advanced Placement participation rates. Davis was selected as the 2017 Administrator of the Year for both the Richland County Association of Educational Office Professionals and the National Association of Educational Office Professionals; he also received the Distinguished Educator Award in 2018 from the 100 Black Men of Greater Columbia.

Jesulon Gibbs-Brown, J.D., Ph.D.

Jesulon Gibbs-Brown, J.D., Ph.D. is an Adjunct Professor of Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry. Her research and teaching focuses on education law, education policymaking, the superintendency and practitioner-based research. Gibbs-Brown most recently served as a school superintendent for five years. In addition, she previously served as the state director for the Office of School Transformation at the South Carolina Department of Education and practiced school law as an attorney representing school districts across the state. Gibbs-Brown earned her Juris Doctorate (J.D.) with a concentration in school law and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from Indiana University-Bloomington.

Suzy Hardie, Ph.D.

Suzy Hardie is a Clinical Associate Professor and the Program Coordinator of the Master’s and Education Specialist’s programs in Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry at the University of South Carolina. She analyzes effective school leadership in high-needs urban and rural schools. Through research, she knows of the importance of context, so she helps to educate administrative interns to be able to be successful leaders in any school context. Since the highest teacher and leader shortage is in rural areas of the state, she focuses on key elements of talent management and establishing an induction program for new leaders through the first three years of their tenure to help diminish the teacher attrition.

David G. Martinez, Ph.D.

Davíd G. Martínez is an Assistant Professor of Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry in the College of Education at the University of South Carolina. He has worked extensively in marginalized, LatinX, and Native American communities as an advocate, researcher, and teacher. Prior to pursuing his doctorate, Davíd was an Educational Administrator in Northern Illinois, and a middle school and high school educator. Davíd earned his doctorate under the mentorship of Professors David C. Berliner, Margarita Pivovarova, and Sherman Dorn at Arizona State University.

Peter Moyi, Ph.D.

Peter Moyi is an Associate Professor and Interim Chair in Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry. His research focuses on school leadership in schools serving poor and marginalized children. In addition, he examines the causes, patterns, and consequences of unequal access to school. He teaches graduate courses in educational inequality, instructional leadership, and education policy.

Akil Ross, Ph.D.

Akil Ross is an Adjunct Professor in Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry. Ross was named the 2017 South Carolina Secondary Principal of the Year and the 2018 NASSP National Principal of the Year. He was featured in The State newspaper's "20 under 40," Principal Leadership Magazine's Class of 2017, The Rotarian Magazine and Columbia Business Monthly, 50 Most Influential, 2018. In 2020, Ross was named the University of South Carolina College of Education Adjunct of the Year. Ross is author of the book, Empowering the Heart: Reviving & Renewing Today’s Education. He started HeartEd LLC to share strategies to further his vison of a future where every community empowers every child.

Henry Tran, Ph.D.

Henry Tran is an Associate Professor at the University of South Carolina’s Department of Leadership, Learning Design, and Inquiry who studies issues related to education human resources (HR) and finance. He has published numerous articles on the topics, including several with students. He holds two national HR certifications and serves on the Board of Advisors and Board of Trustees for the National Education Finance Academy. He is also the editor of the Journal of Education Human Resources and the Director of the Talent Centered Education Leadership Initiative. Prior to his professorship, Tran served as an HR practitioner in both the private sector and in public education. He draws from both experiences in his research and teaching.

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