Ayindé Rudolph is a 2012 graduate of Peabody’s Ed.D. Program in Educational Leadership and Policy. He presently is the superintendent of schools in the Mountain View Whisman school district in California.

“I was fortunate to have some wonderful experiences over the course of my career; however none were comparable to the experiences that I received at Peabody. I truly believe that my current position is due in large part to the ideas and the research that I was exposed to during my time at Vanderbilt. To me, Peabody wasn’t just about learning the information; it was about starting a journey to becoming an expert for my craft. It was about working with experts who not only pushed my thinking, but also challenged me in such a way that helped me to understand the fundamentals of research, the social underpinnings of education, the historical and organizational context of schools, and the engine that drives school reform. I could not effectively manage my current job, or leverage the network of like-minded professionals, without the help of my cohort members and the esteemed professors with whom I was fortunate to work. “[At Peabody], you’re going to learn more about yourself, what you believe, and how you want to lead others in education. More importantly, you are going to meet some of the smartest people in the world: classmates, professors, and staff.”