Nathan Templeton, Ed.D.

Professor and Outreach Cohort Coordinator

A Conversation with Dr. Templeton

What would you tell a student who is thinking about attending A&M-Commerce?

A&M-Commerce is a lovely, student-centric campus that will challenge your thinking, enlighten your worldview and partner with you to make a positive impact in your field of interest. At A&M-Commerce, you're more than a person … you're a heartbeat of reality and the reason for our existence. Intellectual inquiry is the norm as faculty and students challenge each other to new depths of knowledge. Come grow with us!

What has been your favorite course to teach?

Educational Research for Effective Teaching (EDAD 595) is really my baby! So much of school reform and making positive differences in student achievement is centered upon learning and enacting research-driven best practices. This course is the first in our graduate sequence and supports coursework throughout the program. I simply love when this difficult course begins to make sense regarding application to professional practice. I also love that I typically get to teach every master's degree student and leave my imprint on their desire for advanced learning.

Tell us about a project you’re currently working on or recently completed.

I recently completed my first book, “Voices from the Field: Building Capacity for Leadership and Social Change in Rural Schools.” Rural school leadership is an area of expertise and research interest. While a vast majority of schools in the United States are rural, there is a lack of empirical research guiding leadership in rural schools (Tremont & Templeton, 2020).

While leadership in rural settings is as diverse as the communities being served, what seems to be lacking is research focused on combining best or emerging practices, and/or models of collective intellectual inquiry addressing leadership in rural PK-12 settings. Therefore, the book presents a compelling case toward building capacity for school leadership and social change in rural settings by placing emphasis on areas of challenge as denoted in empirical evidence and practitioner experience. This book is timely and essential to broadening understanding of what it means to provide leadership in rural settings.

Educational Background

• Ed.D., Educational Leadership, Liberty University, 2009
• M.Ed., Educational Leadership, Stephen F. Austin State University, 2005
• B.M., Music Education, Stephen F. Austin State University, 2002

Honors and Awards

• Presidential Faculty Fellowship, Texas A&M University-Commerce, 2023
• Edgar L. Morphet Dissertation of the Year, International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership, 2020
  Presented to Dr. Molly Fuller, student, and Dr. Nathan R. Templeton, Chair.

• Outstanding Dissertation of the Year, Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration, 2020
  Presented to Dr. Joshua W. Tremont, student, and Dr. Nathan R. Templeton, Chair.

• C.W. Leftwich Imagination in Teaching Award, Commerce Chapter of Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education, 2019
• Educator of the Year, Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration, 2017
• Joyce Miller Excellent Leadership in Teaching and Learning, Commerce Chapter of Texas Association of Black Personnel in Higher Education, 2017
• Campus Life and Student Development Partnership, TAMUC Division of Campus Life and Student Development, 2016
• Professor of the Year, Hunt/Hopkins County African American Leadership Conference, 2015

Research Interests

• Improving practitioner competency for campus principals
• Leadership in rural schools
• Program preparation and evaluation in higher education
• Closing achievement gaps between traditionally underrepresented student populations.

Professional Organizations

• Texas Council of Professors of Educational Administration
• Texas Association of School Administrators
• Texas Association of Black Professionals in Higher Education
• Texas Association of Secondary School Principals
• Texas Music Educators Association
• American Educational Research Association
• Phi Delta Kappa