Rate My Professor Mary McCullough

Mary K. McCullough, Ph.D., is a Professor of Educational Leadership in Loyola Marymount University’s School of Education, where she currently serves as Chair of the Department of Educational Leadership and interim Chair of the Department of Specialized Programs in Professional Psychology. She earned a B.A. from Mount St. Mary’s College in 1968, an M.A. from the University of San Francisco in 1985, and a Ph.D. in Policy, Planning, and Administration from the University of Southern California in 1992. Joining LMU in 1995 after a distinguished career as a principal and assistant principal in public and Catholic schools, McCullough has held pivotal leadership roles including Inaugural Director of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership for Social Justice, Director of the Administration Programs, Faculty Senate President, Associate Dean for Faculty, and Interim Dean of the School of Education from 2018 to 2021. Her contributions extend to facilitating a $5 million grant process for California secondary schools and chairing several Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation site visits for secondary institutions.

McCullough’s research specializations encompass the principalship, organizational change, generations in the workplace, and culture and climate in organizations. She has authored books and articles on K-12 and university leadership as well as organizational change, and edited two books including “The Just One Justices: The Role of Justice at the Heart of Catholic Higher Education.” Key publications include “The Generations Defined Through a U.S. Lens” (2023, co-authored with Violet Wright), “Educational responses to cultural diversity: A typology for teacher education” (1997, with Magaly Lavadenz), “Reconceptualizing leadership in culturally diverse settings: A Learning community model” (1997, with Magaly Lavadenz), and “Sociocultural factors affecting school reform in culturally diverse settings” (1997, with Magaly Lavadenz). A longtime editor of the Journal of Catholic Education, she also served three years as editor of Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, the journal of the California Association of Professors of Educational Administration. Her accolades include Outstanding Administrator of the Year from the Torrance Unified School District, Outstanding Alumna of the Year from Mount St. Mary’s College, Outstanding Graduate of the Year from the National Catholic Educational Association, and the Hidden Heroes Award from LMU’s Center for the Study of Justice.