BCSL Team

Dr. Eckert came to Baylor in 2019 with more than two decades of experience in education. He provides academic leadership for the Center and is program director for Baylor’s MA in School Leadership. He began his career as a teacher and coach of intermediate and middle school students outside of Chicago and Nashville for 12 years. After completing his doctorate at Vanderbilt University in 2008, he was selected as a Teaching Ambassador Fellow at the U.S. Department of Education, where he worked in both the Bush and Obama administrations on teaching quality issues. For ten years, he prepared teachers at Wheaton College.

His research interests include collective leadership, teaching effectiveness, evaluation and strategic compensation to enhance that effectiveness, and science education. Over the past decade, he has written and worked on grants of more than $300 million with schools and districts across the U.S. Dr. Eckert has conducted research for the U.S. Department of Education, the Carnegie Foundation, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year, the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, and the Center for Teaching Quality.

He is the author of The Novice Advantage: Fearless Practice for Every Teacher (Corwin, 2016) and Leading Together: Teachers and Principals Improving Student Outcomes (Corwin, 2018), book chapters, numerous peer-reviewed articles in journals such as Educational Administration Quarterly, Professional Development in Education, and Education Policy Analysis Archives, and practitioner publications such as Education Week and Phi Delta Kappan. He has written and presented white papers on Capitol Hill and the National Press Club and has been invited to present all over the U.S. and as far away as Muscat, Oman, at a G8-Broader Middle East Summit for education ministers.

Dr. Thomas joined the Baylor School of Education in 2018. As Executive Director, he oversees the operations of the Center, leading development, strategy, planning, and coordination of programs. Dr. Thomas has served in Christian schools, Christian higher education institutions, seminaries, the Christian non-profit sector, and pastoral ministry for more than 25 years.

Dr. Thomas aims to equip Christian leaders to lead from a posture of humility that catalyzes leadership effectiveness helping institutions best fulfill its mission. His interests include mentoring as a means of developing leadership within organizations, organizational culture and health, board competency, and spiritual formation. Ultimately, his work seeks to assist Christian leaders in understanding identity in Christ and how identity-focused leadership empowers one to effectively engage the seismic shifts facing institutions. Currently, Dr. Thomas teaches in the undergraduate leadership minor and the Masters in School Leadership program.