Dr. Jeanne Surface

Jeanne Surface is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Leadership at University of Nebraska Omaha. Surface serves as a Faculty Fellow for the University of Nebraska Rural Futures Institute. Dr. Surface currently teaches School Law to students seeking a Master’s degree in educational leadership; and Qualitative Research Methods to doctoral students. Surface serves as a faculty chair and for multiple doctoral dissertations each year.

Surface received her Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of Wyoming. Her Master’s and Bachelor’s degrees were both earned at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. Dr. Surface was a Leadership Associate graduate from John Goodlad’s Institute for Educational Inquiry program in Seattle, Washington.

Dr. Surface is an experienced rural leader in the field of education and served as Superintendent of Park County School District #16 in Meeteetse, Wyoming. Jeanne also served as principal at Prairie View Elementary School in Ogallala, Nebraska and as the secondary principal in the Wakefield Community School in Wakefield, Nebraska. While in Wakefield, Surface worked closely with Wayne State College establishing a professional development school within the K-12 environment, was deeply engaged in the University of Nebraska School at the Center Project, and the Annenberg Rural Challenge. During this time, Surface wrote a column, Diary of a Rural School Leader, for Rural Roots a publication for the Annenberg project.

Jeanne lives in Papillion Nebraska with her husband Shane and a Labrador retriever. They have three grown daughters and five grandchildren ages 3-9 and enjoys playing with them and watching them learn to play soccer, LaCrosse, and hockey. Her youngest daughter recently moved to Colorado Springs and traveling to that area is fun and frequent.