Eugene schools chief to step down in 2011 | News

From a press release

Eugene School District 4J Superintendent George Russell announced at last night’s meeting of the Eugene School Board that 2010–11 will be his final year. Mr. Russell’s decision comes after more than a decade at the district’s helm. His leadership has garnered the respect and appreciation of the local community and educators across the nation, including recognition as Oregon’s Superintendent of the Year in 2005.

To allow the school board ample time to plan for and seek a new superintendent for 2011–12, Mr. Russell tendered his resignation with more than the six months of notice required by his contract. His resignation is effective no later than June 30, 2011.

“It is been my distinct pleasure to serve the students and community of Eugene for these many years,” Mr. Russell said. “Over the course of my career, I've worked in some excellent school districts with great colleagues and outstanding professionals, but nowhere else have I seen the strong sense of commitment and dedication to student success and organizational excellence as I have here. I can’t imagine that I could have had a better journey, but the time has come to move on so that the district can find new leadership for the next part of the journey. While we have some difficult challenges ahead of us over this next year, I am confident that with we will face them head on and make the best choices for our students and our community.”

The Eugene School Board praised Mr. Russell’s leadership and thanked him for his superb service, then turned to the future. Craig Smith, Eugene School Board Chair, said, “George has been an outstanding leader for the district, for the state, and on a national level. He will be missed — and hard to replace.”

To begin the process of finding a replacement, the board will retain a search consultant and appoint a search committee. The search committee will be representative of the district’s stakeholders and the Eugene community, with participants including board members, district staff, students and community members.

The board hopes to make a hiring decision by March 2011.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION:

GEORGE RUSSELL, SUPERINTENDENT, EUGENE SCHOOL DISTRICT 4J

EMPLOYMENT BACKGROUND:

Before becoming 4J’s 25th superintendent in 1999 (after an appointment as interim superintendent in 1998), Mr. Russell served as 4J’s executive director of human resources from 1995–98. He first came to the district as a human resources administrator from 1974–79. In the 16 years between, he served as assistant superintendent of public school students in San Diego and Seattle, and as human resources director for the Oklahoma City Public Schools. He also worked for Lane County government as director of human resource and management services, county treasurer, and county clerk.

EDUCATION:

His educational background includes an undergraduate degree in Social Psychology from Howard University in Washington, DC; a Masters in Public Administration (MPA) from Golden Gate University in San Francisco; and additional graduate work in education policy and administration from the University of Oregon.

As a Wallace Foundation LEAD District superintendent, he completed the Superintendent Leadership Program (SLP) at Harvard University, a collaborative project between the Kennedy School of Government and the Graduate School of Education. He completed the Executive Educator Leadership Program (ExEL) at Harvard University, a partnership effort of the schools of Business, Government and Education, this year.

EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP:

Mr. Russell’s involvement in educational leadership has gone far beyond the local community. He and several other superintendents from across the country helped create the National Superintendents Roundtable in 2005 and he is a member of the Mountain West Superintendents Roundtable. He has received numerous community and professional awards, and was recognized as Oregon Superintendent of the Year for 2005.

From 1998 to 2002, he was a participant in the Danforth Foundation’s Forum for the American School Superintendent. He has also served as a mentor superintendent for the Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Urban Superintendents Program and serves on the advisory board for that program. Mr. Russell was appointed by the Governor to the state’s Quality Education Commission in 1999, and to the Public Employees Retirement System (PERS) Board in 2000.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS AND LEADERSHIP:

Mr. Russell is involved in many professional organizations, including the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) – National Governing Board, National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) – Superintendents Council, Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), and Oregon Association of School Executives (OASE), for which he served as president in 2006–¬07.

LOCAL COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP:

Mr. Russell serves or has served on a number of community boards, including United Way of Lane County, Eugene/Springfield NAACP, Lane Shelter Care, Relief Nursery, Success by Six Leadership Team, Junior Achievement of Western Oregon and Chamber of Commerce, and the E3 Literacy Partnership Leadership Board, among others. He served on the Diversity Strategic Plan Steering Committee for the College of Education at the University of Oregon, as well as the advisory board for the Center for Leadership and Ethics at Northwest Christian College.