Nathan L. Essex Southwest Tennessee Community College

Nathan L. Essex is professor of educational law and leadership at the University of Memphis and president of Southwest Tennessee Community College. He has held public school teaching and administrative positions prior to completing the doctorate. Essex’s interests include law, educational policy, and personnel administration. He has served as consultant for more than 100 school districts and numerous educational agencies. He served as a policy consultant with the Alabama State Department of Education for 12 years and received numerous awards in recognition of his contributions in the field of education. He is the recipient of the Truman M. Pierce Award for educational leadership and outstanding contributions that advanced the direction of education in the state of Alabama; the Academic Excellence Award in recognition of professional achievement and academic excellence in the research, service, and teaching of education, Capstone College of Education Society, The University of Alabama; Teaching Excellence Award; Distinguished Service Award—Who’s Who in the State of Tennessee; The University of Memphis Distinguished Administrator of the Year 1995-96; “Educator on the Move,” The University of Memphis; Phi Delta Kappa, the President’s award for leadership and service to the community, Youth Services, Inc.; Who’s Who in Corporate Memphis, Grace Magazine; and President Bush’s Community Service Award, just to name a few. Essex has published numerous articles, book chapters, and newsletters on legal issues. Many of his works appear in The Administrator’s Notebook, The Horizon, Compensation Review, The Clearinghouse, The American School Board Journal, American Management Association, Community College Review, Education and Law, and many other professional journals. Essex has authored a law textbook entitled School Law and the Public Schools—A Practical Guide for Educational Leaders, which was published by Allyn & Bacon. A fourth edition was released in January 2007. Essex has also published a textbook for public school teachers, entitled Pocket Guide to School Law, and a booklet on No Child Left Behind that was published by Allyn & Bacon. He is highly sought by educators at all levels to share his knowledge and expertise regarding legal and policy issues that impact educational organizations. He received the BS degree in English at Alabama A&M University, the MS degree in educational administration at Jacksonville State University, and the PhD degree in administration and planning at The University of Alabama.