Randy Barrack, Ed.D., Ph.D.

Adjunct Faculty

EXPERTISE

• Educational Leadership and Management
• Public Policy Advocacy 
• Nonprofit Administration: Finance, Talent, Legal Compliance
• Organizational Ecology

EDUCATION

B.S., Political Science & General Social Science, James Madison University
M.Ed., Educational Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University
Ed.D., Educational Leadership, University of Virginia
Ph.D., Public Policy and Administration, Virginia Commonwealth University 

TEACHING

Financial Management in Government, Public Policy Analysis, Principles of Nonprofit Management, Administrative Law, Financial Management in Nonprofit Organizations, Nonprofit Law, Governance and Ethics, Nonprofit Leadership and Advocacy

BIOGRAPHY

Randy D. Barrack, Ed.D., Ph.D., has been teaching at VCU since 2004. He is a professional administrator with extensive experience in association and foundation management, educational leadership, and public policy.  The former public school classroom teacher and high school principal has over four decades as an experienced chief executive officer of nonprofit, professional education associations working with diverse groups requiring strengths in visionary leadership, finance and budget expertise, membership development, public relations, legislative lobbying, mediation, counseling, consultative support, and training skills. He has demonstrated consistent ability to motivate and direct staffs of paid professionals and volunteers in the public and private sectors and proven successful in developing and implementing policy through collaboration with state agencies. 

Barrack possesses a strong practical and theoretical foundation in educational and political leadership. His experience includes service with multiple nonprofit organizations, notably Cognia—the world’s largest community of education professionals. Cognia is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that conducts rigorous on-site reviews of Pre-K–12 schools and school systems to ensure that all learners reach their full potential. The international organization supports more than 36,000 schools and school systems across the United States and in over 80 other countries, impacting 25 million students and five million educators daily. For seven years, Barrack served as a member of the Cognia Global Commission, the body responsible for school accreditation within the organization.

Barrack has also collaborated with national and international organizations under the sponsorship of the former United States Information Agency, which enabled him to work with nongovernmental organizations in China and Russia.

He has designed, administered, and delivered more than 500 professional education conferences, workshops, institutes, webinars, and train-the-trainer programs for adult learners. He is also the co-author of a legal handbook for school administrators and has written policy manuals for nonprofit organizations covering board governance, financial policies and procedures, and human resource development.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Collaboration among state government agencies, the influence of nonprofit organizations on public policy, the impact of school and government leadership on student learning, and the effectiveness of various leadership practices.