Michael Lovett
From 2008 through 2017, Dr. Lovett was superintendent of the White Bear Lake Public Schools in Minnesota, after serving as assistant superintendent with the Minnetonka Public Schools from 1988 to 2008. Between 1970 and 1988, he was a public-school teacher in New York, an on-site school and district administrator in Minnesota as well as serving in a leadership role at the Minnesota Department of Education.
Since retiring as superintendent in 2017 he has been passing his knowledge along at the graduate level to the next generation of leaders in education. Sr. Lovett currently serves as adjunct faculty at both the University of Minnesota and University of St. Thomas while providing both pro-bono and fee-based strategic leadership mentoring and management consulting to educational and nonprofit leaders through Lovett Leadership LLC, and is active on several nonprofit boards.
Dr. Lovett earned his B.A. in History from Carleton College, Northfield, MN, in 1970, also attending Doshisha University in Japan in 1969; and M.A. (1973) and Ph.D. (1979) degrees in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Minnesota.
For more detail please see https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-lovett-phd/
What has it meant to you professionally, personally, and spiritually to be a Wilberforce Mentor?
From our first video “remote” conversations, I grew to understand my mentee’s professional and personal aspirations, and her motivation to teach and lead in the United States and in her home country. We have met in person twice, once in the public school where she taught, and again when we jointly presented at an international student conference. What have I learned? Personally and professionally, I have come to understand and respect my mentee’s commitment, courage, and determination in the path she has chosen. Spiritually, I am grateful for the opportunities to be a “partner” as she reflects on formidable personal, cultural, and political challenges in her home country.
What would you say to a Wilberforce mentor? What do they need to think about?
Approach your mentor- mentee partnership with humility. As mentors, we may have professional knowledge and experience to offer, but first we must offer genuine listening, empathy, and commitment.