Women's Studies Affiliate Faculty
Patricia FirstJ.D., Ed.D., Professor, Educational Leadership, College of Education
Dr. Patricia F. First is Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Arizona. Her research and teaching are focused on the legal and policy issues of the educational system, particularly those issues intersecting with ethical leadership and just decision-making for students and their families. She is the author of six books, including Educational Policy for School Administrators, and co-editor of School Boards: Changing Local Control. She has also written over a hundred chapters and articles and was a founding co-editor of The Journal for a Just and Caring Education. Dr. First has served as Dean of the School of Education a the University of Dayton and Chairperson of the faculties of Educational Leadership at the University of Arizona, Western Michigan University and Northern Illinois University. She has also been a teacher and administrator in K-12 education, a policy analyst with both state and federal government and a National Education Policy Fellow. She earned the Ed.D. and M.S. at Illinois State University, the B.S. at the University of Massachusetts, and the J.D. at the University of Dayton School of Law. Dr. First sits on editorial and advisory boards including the Editorial Boards of the Journal of Law and Education and the Journal of Women in Educational Leadership for which she writes a regular column on women, education and the law. She is currently researching evolving cyber law, legal and ethical decision-making by educational administrators, and the application of social science research techniques to educational law questions such as adequate funding.