The University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) is a nonprofit corporation whose members are major research universities in the United States and Canada.

The professional beginning for educational administration began in 1947 under the guidance of Walter Cocking, editor of The School Executive and E. B. Norton, professor of educational administration at Teachers College Columbia, with the founding of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). The formation of the Cooperative Program in education administration (CPEA) by 1955 had 30 institutions receive grants to advance the study of school administration.

In 1954, members of the Cooperative Program in Educational Administration (Middle Atlantic Region) proposed an organization which would be devoted to improving the professional preparation of educational administrators. To help establish such an organization, a central office with part-time staff was established on the campus of Columbia University, financed by a grant from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to Teachers College of Columbia.

Between 1956 and 1959, with the help of the staff at the Teachers College office, UCEA's constitution and by-laws were formulated, the organization's purposes were defined, and additional financial support was obtained in the form of a five-year grant from the Kellogg Foundation. The organization was officially founded in 1959 and the UCEA central office moved to The Ohio State University when a small, full-time staff was hired. In 1984 the central office was moved to Arizona State University, and in 1991, to The Pennsylvania State University. Since 1996 the central office has been located at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Since its inception, the Council has worked to improve the professional preparation of administrative personnel in both continuing education and pre-service programs. UCEA has been a major contributor to:

• Broadening the content of preparation programs for educational administrators,



• Extending use of more effective methods of inquiry in educational administration,



• Shifting educational administration from an anecdotal orientation to a more scientific one, leading to generalizations about organization and leadership,



• Developing new instructional materials for administrator programs,



• Fostering exchanges in research and in program development between professors and administrative leaders in the U.S. and their counterparts in other countries, and

UCEA's Early Years:
Jack Culbertson (UCEA),
Glenn Immegart (UCEA) & Truman Pierce (Auburn University) discuss UCEA's Five-Year Plan, 1962

• Continuing efforts toward standards of excellence in research and in preparation programs for administration.
  

With the expiration in 1969 of a second five-year grant from the Kellogg Foundation, UCEA has been supported through a combination of membership dues, donations of resources, facilities, equipment and staff time from member institutions, sales of publications and instructional materials, and investment income. From time to time, the Council also obtains grants from outside institutions for special projects.

The Plenum, comprised of one representative from each member university, elects the Executive Committee, helps make governance, finance, and membership decisions, provides linkages with member university faculty and students and promotes programmatic involvement with UCEA.

• 2006-2007 UCEA Executive Committee



• 2005-2006 UCEA Executive Committee



• 2004-2005 UCEA Executive Committee



• Plenum Session Representatives (PSRs)



• Past Presidents



• Photo Album

UCEA Central Staff are led by the UCEA Executive Director, whose responsibilities include working with the Executive Committee to build the vision, goals, and activities for UCEA consistent with it's mission and leading, supporting, managing, and executing the routine work of UCEA. Central Staff also generally include an Associate Director, an Assistant to the Director, a Financial Director, and graduate assistants.