Meet the Faculty
With more than 150 years of combined experience in various educational administrative fields, UCM's CPPP professors offer students real-world knowledge, experience and resources.
Jim Bowman
A professor of school administration in the CPPP with 15 years of related field expertise, Bowman reflects experience-based learning to students. Bowman, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, teaches ethics in leadership, school and community relations, research problems and school law in the CPPP.
Michael Jinks
After serving 29 years as a superintendent in Nebraska, Iowa and Missouri school systems, Jinks became a UCM faculty member in 2006. He received his Bachelor of Science education degree from UCM and his educational specialist degree from the University of Nebraska. Jinks currently instructs the finance course for the CPPP. He believes prioritizing and decision making are just as important as numbers in the budgeting process and reflects this theory in his course.
Barbara Martin
Practical experience as a classroom teacher, director of special education and a building-level principal, Martin offers 39 years of real-world expertise to her CPPP students. Currently, Martin instructs the CPPP educational leadership course. Additionally, she works with the collaborative doctoral program between UCM and the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Cliff Mohn
Cliff Mohn began his UCM career in 2001, after 32 years in the Independence School District. While in Independence, Mo., he served as a teacher, coach, building administrator and central office administrator. Mohn has facilitated CPPP from its inception. His primary focus areas are instructional leadership and school improvement.
Henry Russell
After 33 years of serving in a variety of senior administrative roles in locally prominent school districts, Henry Russell became an assistant professor at UCM. He teaches the Foundations of Education Administration, and Instructional Leadership and School Improvement courses. Russell encourages his students to look at leadership with a renewed and proactive vision.
Doug Thomas
Doug Thomas began teaching at UCM in 1997 after experiencing 18 years as a middle school teacher and principal in Oklahoma. From the first CPPP cohort, Thomas has served as an influential instructor. Currently, he instructs the administration of middle grades course, which involves visits to area middle schools where CPPP students highlight and discuss the best administrative practices and programs.
Wayne Williams
Wayne Williams, a graduate of the University of Arkansas, is a professor of educational foundations and a graduate coordinator for the Department of Educational Foundations and Literacy. With eight years of public school teaching experience, Williams understands the importance of quality teachers in society. Williams has served 25 years at UCM and is responsible for teaching the introduction to research course in the CPPP.
