Jane Bleasdale

Professor Bleasdale is an associate professor and faculty coordinator of the Catholic Educational Leadership program in the School of Education. Born and raised in England by parents who were both educators, she knew at an early age that teaching was her vocation. She has lived and taught in the UK, the Bahamas, and now the US, and her career has been primarily in K-12 education, serving as a high school administrator focusing on equity and inclusion through personnel and student development.

Professor Bleasdale started studying the higher education sector a decade ago and joined the faculty at USF in 2016. Her original research focused on equity and inclusion in Catholic Jesuit high schools, and specifically the experience of Black, Latino and LGBTQ students. She has recently conducted research on equity and inclusion in public schools, social and emotional wellness of students, and critical feminist leadership. Her research focuses on the experience and impact of women leaders with intersectional identities. She is the primary investigator on a participatory action research project at the University of San Francisco collaborating, with 10 doctoral students on a new paradigm for equitable leadership focused on critical feminist perspectives.

• Equity and inclusion K-12 leadership
• Organizational leadership
• Leadership theories (focus on Critical Feminism)
• Catholic Educational Leadership (focus on equity and inclusion BIPOC, LGBTQIA+)

• Critical feminist perspectives on leadership and women in education 
• LGBTQIA+ inclusion
• Leadership theories and development

• Chair Department of Leadership Studies, School of Education (2017- 2021)
• Program Coordinator Catholic Educational Leadership (2016 - current)
• Chair, Membership Engagement Committee, USFFA (2020 - current)
• Executive Board Member, USFFA (2021 - 2024)
• Chair AERA SIG Catholic Educational Research (2021- 2022)
• Program Chair AERA SIG Catholic Educational Research (2020 - 2021)

• Fordham University, PhD Education Leadership and Policy, 2014
• Seton Hall University, MA Administration and Supervision, 2003
• Exeter University, P.G.C.E.,1993
• St. Mary's College, University of Surrey, BA in English and Theology/Religious Studies 1992

• Adjunct Professor, Fordham University
• Adjunct Professor, Seton Hall University
• Educational Researcher and Consultant
• Director of Faculty Formation, Saint Peter's Prep, NJ
• Assistant Principal Student Life, MCHS, NJ

• USF Sarlo Prize for Excellence in Teaching — Recipient 2021

• Finalist, Outstanding Doctoral Research Award. AERA SIG Catholic Educational Research 2017

• Bleasdale, Jane E. Moving from Tolerance to Inclusion through Critical Collaboration. Journal of Education Human Resources Fall 2020, Vol. 38, No. 4, pp. 453-468
• Bleasdale JE, Peterson MC, Nidich S. Effect of Meditation on Social/Emotional Well-Being in a High-Performing High School. Professional School Counseling. January 2019.
• Bleasdale, Jane.E, and Sullivan Julie A. (2020) Social Conscience and Responsibility Teaching the Common Good in Secondary Education (Teaching Ethics across the American Educational Experience) Roman and Littlefield.

• Ruiz, Ish, Bleasdale, Jane. (2022) Mixed Blessings: Understanding the Experience of LGBTQIA+ Educators in Catholic Schools. Journal of Homosexuality.