Lipscomb Academy Head of School Brad Schultz in 2013 completed a doctoral dissertation about the decade-long effort of an unnamed Christian school to increase the diversity of its student body, according to an abstract made available online by Georgia Southern University.
According to the abstract, Schultz’s work is, “a historical investigation designed to analyze a private Christian school’s intentional efforts to significantly diversify its student body after decades in existence.”
Schultz’s abstract claims, “given the history of private education and of race relations in the United States, it is vital to discover how existing power dynamics between white mainstream and marginalized cultures might be embedded and reflected in this initiative and the ways in which these power dynamics informed this seemingly progressive reform.”
Lipscomb Academy confirmed Schultz wrote this dissertation when it announced he joined the school in 2020. The academy described the educator, “As a champion of inclusivity and diversity.”
Though the full dissertation is not available online, Lipscomb Academy included a portion in its announcement.
“It is not uncommon for a river to change its course over a long period of time. This is typically due to naturally occurring events like erosion and flooding. There are times, however, when people reroute rivers to either bring water to designated areas or to direct the water elsewhere to avoid flooding. Either way, there are often unexpected outcomes and unintended consequences that must be addressed,” wrote Schultz, according to Lipscomb Academy.
The academy further wrote that its Head of School ended his dissertation by reflecting on, “lessons learned whether through history or current and relevant experiences. As famously stated by Norman Maclean, ‘Eventually, all things merge into one and a river runs through it.’”
Additional reporting by the Chester County Independent, similarly announcing Schultz’s 2020 appointment as the Head of School for Lipscomb Academy, confirms he obtained his Doctor of Education degree from Georgia Southern, in addition to a Bachelor of Science from Freed-Hardeman University, and Master of Education and Education Specialist degrees from North Georgia College and State University.
Though it is unclear what school Schultz profiled in his dissertation on diversity, both reports indicate he worked for nearly two decades at the Greater Atlanta Christian School.
One of the four committee members who reviewed Schultz’s dissertation is Dr. Robert Lake, who notably included his role in Schultz’s work on a resume uploaded to the university’s website.
According to the resume, Lake’s area of focus in teaching is includes, “Diversity in Education” and “Multicultural Education.”
Lake’s research interests additionally include “critical pedagogy,” which Harvard University explains is, “based on critical theory,” and states has been defined as, “an educational theory based on the idea that schools typically serve the interests of those who have power in a society by, usually unintentionally, perpetually unquestioned norms for relationships, expectations, and behaviors.”
It is unclear how Schultz’s background now informs his role as Head of School at Lipscomb Academy, as a spokesman for both the academy and Lipscomb University told The Tennessee Star on Tuesday that the institutions are in full compliance with the Trump administration’s efforts to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion, which seems to include the intentional diversification efforts described in the dissertation by Schultz.
Schultz, in addition to Lipscomb University President Candice McQueen, attended the October 2 meeting with Turning Point USA (TPUSA) spokesman and conservative influencer Savannah Chrisley and another Lipscomb Academy parent, who last month expressed concern over the university’s initial decision to prohibit students from wearing red ties and suit jackets to mourn the assassination of Charlie Kirk.
Chrisley and the parent told The Star that Schultz greeted them alongside a lawyer representing Lipscomb University, and that they were presented with non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) that would have prohibited them from referencing the details of the meeting.
Schultz and McQueen agreed to the meeting after the faculty organized two separate protests in response to the school’s decision to reassign its former Head of Upper School, Jesse Savage, after Savage prohibited students from mourning Kirk on campus.
Lipscomb Academy held a chapel service on Tuesday for students to share remarks about Kirk, but Chrisley told The Star that only one student was allowed to speak during the event, while Schultz read summaries of remarks written by other students.