Gretchen Ann Oltman, JD, PhD

Program Director, Master of Science in Organizational Leadership

Associate Professor

Contact

GretchenOltman@creighton.edu
College of Professional and Continuing Education
Interdisciplinary Department
Organizational Leadership (Master of Science)
Organizational Leadership (Graduate Certificate)
Leadership and Well-Being (Graduate Certificate)
Sports Leadership (Graduate Certificate)
K-12 Educational Leadership through Sports (Graduate Certificate)
EPLY - Eppley Building - B022

Gretchen Ann Oltman, JD, PhD

Program Director, Master of Science in Organizational Leadership

Associate Professor

Dr. Oltman is an experienced educator with over twenty years spent in the classroom and in educational leadership positions. She currently serves as an Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Studies and Program Director of the Master of Science in Organizational Leadership.  She is a licensed attorney and earned a Ph.D. in Educational Studies. She also maintains a professional Nebraska 7-12 teaching (English and Political Science) in addition to a 7-12 principal’s/administrative certificate. As a public school teacher, she had the opportunity to develop curriculum, teach reading and writing courses, and manage multiple aspects of assessment. She also supervised multiple K-12 student teaching candidates throughout Nebraska and Iowa. She regularly presents at local and national conferences, including the National Conference for Teachers of English and the Education Law Association. She is an Executive Committee Member on the NCTE's Standing Committee Against Censorship, a group dedicated to the protection of the First Amendment in our nation's schools. She is the author or co-author of five books including Violence in Student Writing: A Guide for School Administrators (2010), Law Meets Literature: A Novel Approach to the English Classroom (2015), Prepare to Chair: Leading the Thesis and Dissertation Process (2019), The Themes that Bind Us: Simplifying U.S. Supreme Court Cases for the Social Studies Classroom (2018), The Supreme 15: Cases and Materials for the AP Government and Politics Exam (2019) and What's Your Leadership Story: A School Leader's Guide to Aligning How You Lead with Who You Are (2021). Her research interests include studying the intersections of law, education, and leadership.

Research Focus

Dr. Oltman's research interests include education law issues, censorship challenges, leadership development, and issues surrounding public education.

Department

Interdisciplinary Studies

Position

Associate Professor

Books

  • A guide to academic program design: Designing, creating, and leading new degree programs
    Clark, J. & Oltman, G. , 2023
  • Brown, L., & Oltman, G. (2022). A teacher's practical guide to safe and secure schools. Routledge. 2021
  • Oltman, G. & Bautista, V. (2021). More than my title: A school leader's guide to creating a leadership philosophy. Alexandria, VA: ASCD 2021
  • Rowman and Littlefield
    Oltman, G., Surface, J., & Keiser, K. (2019). The chair: Leading the dissertation and theses process. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. 2019
  • Rowman and Littlefield
    Oltman, G., Maddux, C, & Graff, J. (2018). The themes that bind us: Simplifying U.S. Supreme Court cases for the social studies classroom. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. 2017
  • Rowman and Littlefield
    Oltman, G. & Leibhart, K. (2017). Lived experiences of military veterans in the college English classroom. In E. J. M. Knox (Ed.), Trigger warnings: History, theory, and context (pp. 221-230). Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield, p. 221-230 2017
  • Oltman, G., Maddux, C., and Graff, J. (2015). Law meets literature: A novel approach to the English classroom. Rowman and Littlefield: Lanham, MD. 2015
  • Corwin Press
    Oltman, G. (2012). Violence in student writing: A guide for school administrators. Thousand Oaks, CA 2012

Articles

  • Please Secure the Leaders Oxygen Mask First: An Empirical and Theoretical Examination of Leadership Wellbeing and its Effect on Student Achievement
    Bautista, V. & Oltman, G. (2021). Building a school leader's personal well-being plan. In Carpenter, B., Mahfouz, J., & Robinson, K. (Eds.), Please secure the leader's oxygen mask first: An empirical and theoretical examination of leadership wellbeing and its effect on student achievement. Information Age Press. 2021
  • Principal Leadership
    Brown, L. & Oltman, G. (2020). New teachers and school safety: A responsibility for all educators. Principal Leadership. (Accepted for publication in the Feb. 2020 issue). 2020
  • Education Law Association
    Sharp, R. & Oltman, G. (2018). Academic freedom and censorship. In M. A. Paige & A. R. Nelson (Eds.). Administrators' guide to employment law and personnel management in schools (17-29). Cleveland, OH: Education Law Association., p. 17-29 2018
  • Clearinghouse
    Oltman, G., Surface, J., & Stader, D. (2017). Living Education Law in 2017:  How Facebook, Prayer, Toilets, and Guns Impact Today’s Teachers. ClearingHouse.
    pending, p. pending 2017
  • Sharp, R. & Oltman, G. (2017). Academic freedom and censorship.  In J.R. Decker, M. M. Lewis, E. A. Shaver, A. E. Blankenship-Knox, & M. A. Paige (Eds). In The Principal’s Legal Handbook. Dayton, OH: Education Law Association. 2017
  • Principal Leadership
    "The principal-led book club" 2016
  • Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership
    Brock, B.L, Cherney, I.D., Martin, J.R., Oltman, G. (2015). How to launch a doctoral interdisciplinary leadership program. Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership,
    1(1), p. 14-23 2015
  • Principal Leadership.
    Oltman, G. When writing predicts violence. 2010
  • Creighton Journal of Interdisciplinary Leadership
    Hall, G. and Uerling, D. Single-sex schools and classrooms: Is ‘separate but comparable’legally permissible?” Journal of Women in Educational Leadership.
    1(2) 2003
  • Clearinghouse
    Haar, J., Hall, G., Schoepp, P., & Smith, D. H. How teachers teach to students with different learning styles. 
    75(3), p. 142-45 2002
  • New and Notes: A Publication of the Greater Louisville English Council
    Hall, G., “National Standards Already at Work.” News and Notes: A Publication of the GreaterLouisville English Council. Summer, 1995. 1995

Publications

  • USA TODAY College
    Can leadership be taught? USA Today College. Retrieved from http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/20/voices-can-leadership-be-taught/ 2014
  • Other
    Oltman, G. (2013, October 9). Have you become the dress code police? [Blog post].Retrieved from http://smartblogs.com/education/2013/10/09/have-you-become-the-dress-code-police/ 2013
  • Other
    Oltman, G. (2013, August 21). The case of the unwelcome t-shirts (or 14 t-shirts, that is).[Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.edjurist.com 2013
  • Other
    Oltman, G. (2013, January 10). Troublesome student writing after Sandy Hook. [Blogpost]. Retrieved from http://www.edjurist.com 2013
  • USA TODAY College
    Hey you! Get your dissertation done! USA Today College. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/pxwqzh2 2012
  • USA TODAY College
    When average is good enough. USA Today College Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/ovy56g5 2012
  • USA TODAY College
    Advice from a kindergartner. USA Today College. Retrieved from http://tinyurl.com/ox4uytw 2012
  • Dissertations & Thesis at University of Nebraska - Lincoln
    Dealing with student violent writing in the English classroom: A framework for public school administrators. Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Nebraska - Lincoln, p. Publication No. AAT 3350257 2010

Editing and Reviews

  • Administrator’s guide to school law 2012
    Oltman, G. and Lineburg, M. (2012). Tort liability. In A.G. Osborne and N.M. Roberts (Eds.), Dayton, OH. Education Law Association. 2012
  • Administrator’s guide to school law 2011
    Oltman, G. and Lineburg, M. School boards/school districts: Governance and finance. In A.G. Osborne and N.M. Roberts (Eds.), Dayton, OH. Education Law Association. 2011
  • Administrator’s guide to school law 2011
    Oltman, G. and Lineburg, M. (2011). Tort liability. In A.G. Osborne and N.M. Roberts (Eds.), Dayton, OH. Education Law Association. 2011
  • Journal of Enrollment Management

    2 issues-2010 2010

Presentations

  • Clark, J., Sughrue, J., Surface, J., & Oltman, G. (2020). Teaching Higher Education Law: Best Practices for Graduate Programs. A roundtable session for the Education Law Association Annual Conference. Virtual/Online. 2020
  • Oltman, G. & Surface, J. (2020). Virtual Dissertation Defenses: Adapting to a New Pandemic Reality. A concurrent presentation for the Education Law Association Annual Conference. Virtual/Online. 2020
  • Brown, L., & Oltman, G. (2020). Recognizing and Responding to the Difficult Stories of Students. An invited concurrent session for the ASCD Virtual Symposium on Building Trauma-Sensitive Schools. Online. 2020
  • Oltman, G., & Brown, L. (2020). When Students Write Their Truth: Supporting the Written Voices of Students. A concurrent session for the 2020 ASCD Back to School Virtual Conference, online. 2020
  • Oltman, G. & Bautista, V. (2020. More Than My Title: Capturing Your Leadership Philosophy. A concurrent session for ASCD's Empower 20 National Conferences, Los Angeles, CA. (Cancelled due to COVID-19). 2020
  • Oltman, G. & Bautista, V., Are You Sure You Want to Follow Me?: School Leaders Creating a Leadership Philosophy. Concurrent session at ASCD Empower 19, Chicago, IL. 2019
  • Oltman, G., Graff, J., & Maddux, C., The Justice League: Unmasking the Mystery behind Supreme Court Cases. Concurrent session at the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) National Conference. Chicago, IL. 2018
  • Oltman, G. & Surface, J.. Dissertations gone wrong 2.0: Legal and educational issues faced in dissertation completion. A concurrent session at the Education Law Association National Conference, Cleveland, OH. 2018
  • Oltman, G. & Bautista, V. Embracing Your Past to Lead for the Future: Developing Your Leadership Philosophy. Concurrent session presentation at the annual Non-Profit Association of the Midlands (NAM) Summit, LaVista, NE. 2018
  • Bautista, V. & Oltman, G., Using Your Past to Lead Your Future. Concurrent session presentation at the NonProfit Association of the Midlands (NAM) Conference, Kearney, NE. 2018
  • Oltman, G., Graff, J., & Maddux, C., Legal Literacy: Teaching the Reading of U.S. Supreme Court Cases. Concurrent session at the College Board AP National Conference. Houston, TX. 2018
  • Bautista, V., & Oltman, G., Connecting With Clients: Sharing Your Health and Wellness Coaching Philosophy. Concurrent session presentation at the National Wellness Institute (NWI), St. Paul, MN. 2018
  • Incorporating author voices in censorship challenges: Authors as advocates. A session at the NCTE National Conference, Atlanta, GA. 2017
  • Law Meets Literature: A Novel Approach for the English Classroom. A closing address at the University of Nebraska's Transformative Education in a Globalized Context: A Professional Development Workshop. 2017
  • Oltman, G. & Surface, J. "Dissertations Gone Bad...and Gone Good." A concurrent presentation for the Nebraska Women in Higher Education Conference, Lincoln, NE. 2017
  • Oltman, G. & Bautista, V. "Beyond the Buzzwords: Crafting a Personal Leadership Philosophy." A concurrent presentation for the Nebraska Women in Higher Education Conference, Lincoln, NE. 2017
  • Synthesis and Analysis: Using Legal Documents in the English Classroom. A concurrent session presentation at the AP National Conference, Anaheim, CA. 2016
  • The dissertation in practice: Designing a meaningful dissertation for leadership students. Innovative Practice Paper Session at the Association of Leadership Educators National Conference, Sacramento, CA. 2016
  • Law and literature: Incorporating legal texts in the English classroom. A session at the National Council of English Teachers National Convention, Washington, D.C. 2014
  • When doctoral students sue: Case law involving doctoral student lawsuits. Session presentation at the Education Law Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA. 2014
  • When doctoral students sue: Case law involving doctoral student lawsuits. ELA Conference. Paper presented at the Education Law Association Annual Conference, San Diego, CA: Education Law Association. 2014
  • Gifted education: Advocacy, identification, and policy issues for 2013-2014. Concurrent session at the Education Law Association National Conference, Westminister, CO. 2013
  • Law 101 for English teachers. Round-table discussion at the National Conference for Teachers of English, Boston, MA. 2013
  • Implications of using student inventories in gifted programming. Concurrent session at the Nebraska Association for the Gifted Conference, Papillion, NE. 2013
  • All I needed to know about education law I learned in kindergarten: An overview of the legal issues facing today's kindergartners. ELA Conference Papers. Paper presented at Education Law Association, Hilton Head, SC 2012
  • Dealing with student violent writing. Round-table presentation at the National Conference of Teachers of English (NCTE) National Convention, Las Vegas, NV. 2012
  • Everything I needed to know about education law I learned in kindergarten: An overview of legal issues arising in kindergarten. Concurrent session at the Education Law Association National Conference, Hilton Head, SC. 2012
  • Advising the thesis process for LL.M. students. Concurrent session presentation at the national conference for LL.M. program administrators, American University, Washington, D.C. 2012
  • Dealing with student violent writing. Round-table presentation at the Education Law Association National Conference, Chicago, IL. 2011
  • What the kids are wearing: Troublesome T-shirts in the public schools Concurrent session presentation at the Women in Educational Leadership Conference, Lincoln, NE. 2011
  • Dealing with violent writing: Guidelines for administrators. Concurrent session presentation at the annual state convention for the Nebraska Council of School Administrators (Administrator Days), Kearney, NE. 2011
  • Online harassment of school administrators by students. Concurrent session presentation at the annual national convention of Women in Educational Leadership, Lincoln, NE. 2010
  • Dealing with student violent writing. Concurrent session presentation at the annual national convention for the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP), Phoenix, AZ. 2010

Other

  • Grant Recipient, 2016 Office for Academic Excellent and Assessment (AEA) for “Meeting Milestones: Assessing the Effect of a Dissertation Proposal Development Course on the Quality and Timeliness of Dissertation Proposals and Defenses” (proposal submitted with Dr. Jim Martin and Dr. Leah Georges) - $2,000

  • Grant Recipient, 2018-2019, Teaching and Learning Center (TLC) Development Grant for “Professional Leadership Philosophies Across Disciplines” (proposal submitted with Dr. Vicki Bautista) - $1,300

Awards

  • Harold I. Moser Scholarship
  • 2013-2014 Fellow to the Nebraska State Bar Association Leadership Academy
  • 2012 Mom Congress Delegate for the State of Nebraska
    Parenting Magazine
  • 2010 NASSP High School Level Dissertation of the Year Award
    Awarded the 2010 National Association of Secondary School Principals' High School Level Dissertation of the Year Award.
    National Association of Secondary School Principals
  • Florence Turner Karlin Scholarship, Lincoln Community Foundation
  • Peter Kiewit Teacher Achievement Award
    2002 Peter Kiewit Teacher Achievement Award
  • John Gradwohl/Nebraska Council of School Attorneys Scholarship
  • Eastman Memorial Law Scholarship
  • Shawn L. Markel Memorial Scholarship
  • M.M. and W.F. Hoppe Memorial Scholarship