Rod Jonas, PhD

Dean of Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences
Professor of Education

Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences

About Me

In 1989, I was hired as the University of Mary's Men's Basketball Coach and Director of the physical education program. In 1996, I became the Student Teaching Program Director in the Department of Education and in 2005 became the Chair of the Department of Education. In 2009, I was selected as Dean of the Liffrig Family School of Education and Behavioral Sciences by President Monsignor James P. Shea. I hold the faculty rank of Professor and, in addition to my administrative role, teach graduate courses that focus on organizational behavior and school leadership in our MEd and EdD programs.

Why I’m At Mary

I have worked at the University of Mary since 1989 because of my love for the university and its mission. I am deeply committed to assisting our faculty in the development of strong academic programs that meet the needs of our students so they can make a difference in this world.

Expertise

My area of expertise is in school administration and organizational behavior. Each year, I conduct numerous workshops and presentations at both the national and state level that focus on how to build a strong positive organization culture, how to build strong teams, the value of a shared-governance organizational structure, and on servant and transformational leadership.

Jonas, R. A., Tufte, B., Lamb, C., Marman, K., Meidinger, R. & Nieuwsma, H. (2021) "Effect of a Shared-Governance Organizational Structure on Organizational Culture," The Leadership in Higher Education Conference, Washington, DC.

Jonas, R. A. (2021) "The Value of a Positive School Culture," Cognia Virtual Summer Conference.

Jonas, R. (2020) "The Keys to Effective Leadership," North Dakota Elementary School Administrators Winter Conference, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (2019) "Empower Others by Becoming a Transformational Leader," North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders Summer Conference, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (2019). "Leadership Behaviors that will Make your Teachers Quit," North Dakota Council of Educational Leaders Summer Conference, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A (2019) "Transformational Leadership - The Key to Innovative Change," AdvancED North Dakota Fall Conference, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (2019) "Preparing New Teachers, Whose Job is it?" Governor's Summit on Innovative Education, Jamestown, ND.

Jonas, Rodney and Copas, Aimee (2018) "An Analysis of Factors that Produce a Positive School Climate as Perceived by K-12 Teachers in North Dakota's Public and Private Schools," AdvancEd Fall Conference, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (2009), "Effect of the Assessment Movement in Education on Teacher's Perceptions of School Climate in Elementary and Secondary Schools in the Bismarck Public School District," University of Mary, Bismarck, ND.

Herman, G. and Jonas, R. A. (2004) "An Analysis of North Dakota Student Teacher Performance," University of Mary, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (1997) "ETS PPST Validation Study," University of Mary, Bismarck, ND.

Jonas, R. A. (1993) "The Influence of Parental Psychosocial Factors on School-Age Children's Health-Relation Physical Fitness," [Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation]. University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.

Johnson, J. Anderson, M., & Jonas, R. (1986) "The Minnesota Experience: Coaching certification," Journal of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance. 57(6): 53-56.

Education

BS: Augsburg College, 1977
MEd: North Dakota State University, 1981
PhD: University of Minnesota, 1993

Feature Content

I am married to my wife, Shirley, and we have two children (Melissa and Jason) and four grandchildren (Drew, Paige, Finley and Emmett). My daughter Melissa is an Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Mary. Melissa is married to Jeromie Taylor, who is a Physical Education teacher in the Bismarck School District. My son, Jason, is currently a graduate student in our school's graduate school counselor program and he is married to Nicole, who is an Assistant Professor in the Nursing Department at the University of Mary.

I am an avid upland bird hunter; I hunt prairie chickens, sharptail grouse, and pheasants each fall in North Dakota, South Dakota and Nebraska. I hunt with my two dogs, Koda and Turbo, who are both Boykin Spaniels, and who enjoy the great outdoors as much as I do.