Pearl G. Sims

Senior Lecturer in Education

Ed.D., Vanderbilt University

Research Area

Leadership Development and Instructional Technology

Short Biography

Pearl Sims previously served as the Director of Vanderbilt University's Leadership Development Center, a center devoted to the personal and professional development of public education and social service leaders. She is a faculty member in Peabody's Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations where she teaches classes in leadership and in instructional technology. Her primary research interest is educational and organizational leadership and in using technology for leadership development.

Pearl has her doctorate in educational leadership from Vanderbilt University and has been awarded over $8 million in research grants during the past five years for her work in the use of technology for leadership development. She is a national facilitator for Microsoft's Partners in Learning and has researched the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's professional development efforts in Tennessee since 2001. Most recently she helped conduct an international study of U.S. Dept. of Defense Schools, served as the educational specialist on the Governor's Task Force for Welfare Reform, and directed Peabody College's highly successful Principals' Leadership Academy.

She is currently the lead faculty member for a new partnership with South China Normal University and is conducting a $3.9 million dollar research project aimed at using technology for large scale organizational change within the State of Tennessee. As a former member of Mayor (now Governor) Phil Bredesen's cabinet, Pearl has served on a wide variety of local, state, and national level task forces and committees. She is active in many civic and education organizations and is the recipient of multiple leadership awards.

Additional Information

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Courses Taught
Selected Publications | CV

Areas of Expertise

Leadership, Policy & Organizations

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