Karen Seashore Louis is the Rodney Wallace Professor of Educational Policy and Administration at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities. Her area of expertise includes improvement in K-12 leadership and policy over the last 30 years, particularly in urban secondary schools. Louis also conducts research on organizational changes within higher education, with particular attention to faculty roles, and on international comparative policy in educational reform. A past president of Division A of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), she is a widely published author in the field. Recent books include Organizing for School Change, Leadership for Change and School Improvement: International Perspectives, Handbook of Educational Administration, Second Edition, and Organizational Learning in Schools. Louis earned a bachelor's degree in History from Swarthmore College and a doctorate in sociology from Columbia University. Sharon D. Kruse is a professor in the Department of Educational Foundations and Leadership at the University of Akron. Over the past decade, she has studied school leadership and successful school improvement practices. She previously worked with Karen Seashore Louis coauthoring Professionalism and Community: Perspective on Reforming Urban Schools (Corwin Press 1995) and with Bob Johnson Jr. coauthoring Decision Making for Educational Leaders: Under-Examined Dimensions and Issues.