Wendy Burke

Dr. Wendy Burke serves as Professor and Department Head for the Department of Teacher Education at Eastern Michigan University, with extensive leadership experience including Director of Student Teaching (2014-2018) and John W. Porter Endowed Chair (2017-2018). Her work centers on advancing teacher and student learning through strategic partnerships with districts, community groups, and statewide organizations.

Her educational credentials include:

• Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• M.Ed. in Educational Organizational Leadership from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• A.B. in Teaching of English at the Secondary Level from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Dr. Burke's research investigates professional learning frameworks, teacher development systems, and transformative school-university-community partnerships. She examines leadership development through adaptive networks, school reform models, and systems change mechanisms that prioritize equity and context-responsive practices. Her scholarship emphasizes cultivating teacher agency and voice within collaborative environments.

Her publications reveal consistent focus on leadership development in educational settings, with recurring themes including critical friends groups for professional development, preservice teacher empowerment in field experiences, and deconstructing power dynamics in partnerships. This body of work demonstrates longitudinal commitment to bridging theory and practice for meaningful educational transformation.

Her distinguished recognition includes:

• John W. Porter Endowed Chair appointment (2017-2018)

Dr. Burke has secured significant grant funding including the 21st Century Learning Community grant for EMU Bright Futures afterschool program. She co-founded the Adaptive Leadership Network (2012-2018) supporting 200+ educators and currently leads the Secondary Redesign Workgroup. Her ongoing initiatives include:

• Steering committee for Place and Community Based teacher preparation
• Regional partnership for transformative math teacher education
• Michigan Alliance for Social Emotional Learning (co-founder)

She actively shapes statewide policy through Learning Forward Michigan's Executive Board and AERA's SIG leadership, with current work situating teacher development within urban community contexts to drive systemic change.