Dr. Kevin Baxter is the Director of the Mary Ann Remick Leadership Program at the Alliance for Catholic Education at the University of Notre Dame. In his role as Director, he supports the faculty and staff in the program’s mission to form transformational Catholic school leaders through intentional community building, integrated spiritual development, and rigorous academic preparation to strengthen Catholic schools. Dr. Baxter is also a Teaching Professor and a Fellow in the Institute for Educational Initiatives.
Prior to his current role, Dr. Baxter served as the Chief Innovation Officer for the National Catholic Educational Association (NCEA), where he focused on leadership formation and succession planning, curriculum and pedagogical innovation at the school site level, and developing new governance and finance structures for Catholic schools. He played a key role at NCEA in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, developing the New Leaders Academy and spearheading the creation of the virtual format for the Catholic Leadership Summit in the fall of 2020.
Dr. Baxter was the Senior Director and Superintendent of Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from 2015-2019, where he was responsible for coordinating and implementing the vision for growth for Catholic Schools, with a student population of approximately 78,000, from Pre-school through 12th grade. Prior to serving as Senior Director and Superintendent of Catholic Schools, Dr. Baxter served as Superintendent for Elementary Schools in the Archdiocese of Los Angeles from July 2009 through June 2015. He was principal at American Martyrs School in Manhattan Beach from 2004-2009 and principal at St. Columbkille School in South Los Angeles from 2001-2004.
Dr. Baxter graduated from Villanova University with a BA in English and Minor in Communications. He holds a master’s degree in Secondary Teacher Education and a California Clear Credential in Biology/General Science from Loyola Marymount University. He also has his Tier I and Tier II Professional Administrative Services Credentials. He holds a Doctor of Education degree from the University of Southern California in Educational Leadership. His dissertation explored the leadership practices at an urban charter school and the impact those practices had on the academic achievement of students.
Dr. Baxter was a part-time faculty member in the School of Education at Loyola Marymount University from 2002-2020, where he taught courses in both the master’s and Doctoral programs. Those classes included Transformational Leadership, Private School Law and Ethics, Organizational Leadership, Financial and Human Resource Management and Context and Current Topics in Private Education. His research interests include leadership in Catholic education, specifically focused on financial and human resource management; dual language immersion; special needs inclusion in Catholic education; and the law and Catholic/private education.
Dr. Baxter is the author of two books, Greatness in Smallness: A Vision for Catholic Microschools (NCEA, 2021) and Changing the Ending (NCEA, 2011) and he co-edited (with David DeCosse) Conscience and Catholic Education: Theology, Administration, and Teaching (Orbis, 2022). He wrote a chapter in The Practitioner’s Guide to Catholic School Leadership (NCEA, 2012) entitled Financial Leadership in Catholic Schools and also contributed a chapter to the book Justice, Care & Diversity: Addressing the Needs of All Students in Catholic Secondary Schools (NCEA, 2009). The chapter was entitled: “Let the Children Come to Me”: The Case for Catholic Inclusion. He has written numerous articles in both peer reviewed and popular publications and has spoken widely across the country.