Catharine Biddle

A portrait of Catharine Biddle.Director, School of Educational Leadership, Higher Education and Human Development
Associate Professor of Educational Leadership
catharine.biddle@maine.edu
207.581.2450

333 Merrill Hall
University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-574

Bio: Dr. Biddle’s research focuses on ways in which rural schools and communities respond to social and economic change in the 21st century. She is particularly interested in how schools can more effectively leverage partnerships with external organizations or groups to address issues of social inequality and how non-traditional leaders—such as youth, parents and other community members—may lead or serve as partners in these efforts. Her interests are driven by her professional background in community development that leverages schools. Prior to joining the faculty at UMaine, she spent five years as a research affiliate with the Center on Rural Education and Communities at the Pennsylvania State University and two years as the managing editor of the Journal of Research in Rural Education. Dr. Biddle also served as the executive director of the Nanubhai Education Foundation, an international education nonprofit working in rural India, and as an out of school time educator for the national nonprofit organization Citizen Schools. She is currently program chair for the American Educational Research Association’s rural education special interest group.

Education
Ph.D., 2015, The Pennsylvania State University

Courses taught at UMaine

  • EHD 500: Social Contexts of Education
  • EAD 560: Functions and Theories of Educational Leadership
  • EAD 563: Individual Leadership: Problems, Paradoxes and Possibilities
  • EAD 565: Inquiry and Evaluation in Schools
  • EHD 590: Rural School and Community Leadership
  • EHD 654: Educational Policy Formation and Analysis
  • EHD 657: Doctoral Practicum in Research Methods

Sample publications

Professional website: catbiddle.wordpress.com