Jon Wergin has been Professor of Education Studies at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership & Change since 2003, following a 30-year career at Virginia Commonwealth University, where he won awards for both teaching (1996) and scholarship (1998). He was the founding director of the Forum on Faculty Roles and Rewards in the American Association for Higher Education in 1992, and continued an active association with AAHE until 2004, focusing his scholarship on leadership and change in higher education. He is the author or co-author of 18 books and monographs, 13 book chapters, and 64 scholarly papers, and has given invited addresses to more than 100 colleges, universities, and professional organizations on such topics as faculty development, evaluation research, professional education, curriculum development in higher education, evaluation and change in higher education, and department chair development.  His most recent book is Deep Learning in a Disorienting World. After nearly 20 years with Antioch, Jon moved to semi-retirement status in July 2020.

Educational History

PhD, University of Nebraska, 1973

Publications

Wergin, J.F.: Finding the Right Design for EDI Research.  In Bendl, R., Booysen, L., and Pringle, J., Research Methods on Diversity Management, Equality and Inclusion at Work.  London: Emerald, 2017, forthcoming.

Erenrich, S., and Wergin, J.F. (Eds.): Grassroots leadership and the arts for social change.  Washington, DC: International Leadership Association, 2017

Wergin, J.F., and Alexandre, L.: Differentiation and Integration: Managing the Paradox in Doctoral Education.  In Blessinger, P., and Stockley, D., Emerging Directions in Doctoral Education.  London: Emerald, 2016.

Wergin, J.F.: Administrative leadership.  Manhattan, KS: IDEA Paper #56, 2015.  www.ideaedu.org

Wergin, J.F.: Re-booting the EdD. Harvard Educational Review, 81(1), 119-139, Spring 2011.

McMillan, J.H., and Wergin, J.F.: Understanding and evaluating educational research (4th Ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall, 2010.

Wergin, J.F., and Associates: Leadership in place: How academic professionals can find their leadership voice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2007.

Wergin, J.F.: Departments that work: Building and sustaining cultures of excellence in academic programs. Bolton, MA: Anker, 2003. (Translated into Arabic, 2005)

Curry, L., Wergin, J.F., and Associates: Educating professionals: Responding to new demands for competence and accountability. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993.

Awards

Outstanding Research Award, VCU School of Education, 1998.

Charles Ruch Award for Outstanding Teaching, VCU School of Education, 1996

Best Scholarly Publication, Division I of AERA, 1994 (for Educating Professionals, with Lynn Curry).

Professional Affiliations

International Leadership Association

Academic Focus

• Adult learning and development and their connection to leadership
• Leadership & change in higher education
• Research design
• Practice-based learning and research

Teaching Statement

Practicing professionals learn best when they are able to bring practice-based insights into the learning setting and make meaning of them with fellow practitioners.  My role as teacher is to facilitate that process, helping students link their practice wisdom to key ideas in leadership & change, and to help them develop stronger skills in critical reflection along the way.