Abstract
The purpose of this study was to trace the development of the Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership at the University of La Verne from its inception in 1973 as a joint project between La Verne College and the University of Northern Colorado to its position today as a separate and very distinctive doctoral program. The researcher used the processes of historical research, including historiography and oral history methods to examine the genesis and development of the program. The data were collected from primary sources, both documents and witnesses, primarily through interviews with past and present program faculty. This nontraditional and distinctive doctoral program was driven by a compelling vision and audacious goals which were embraced by all faculty. Its highly collaborative environment and substantively different faculty roles resulted in continual risk-taking and experimentation with new ideas, structures, and processes. The program exhibits many of the characteristics of highly visionary companies described in the research studies of James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, including internal mechanisms that ensure self-reflection, discontent with the status quo, high value on innovation and creativity, and recognition of the need to grow its own leadership. The doctoral program survived and thrived at La Verne, kept its autonomy and vision intact, and disdained the traditional. The program models change principles that can inform current change and improvement efforts in educational institutions in the state of California and across the nation. Further study is recommended to determine the impact of the La Verne doctoral program on its graduates as well as their influence on change efforts in California, the roles of program faculty compared to faculty in traditional doctoral programs, and the effect that the program's adherence to the characteristics of visionary companies has had on its continuing success.