Anthony Middlebrooks

Tony Middlebrooks, Ph.D., creates programs and tools, designs learning experiences, and explores the intersection of leadership, innovation, creativity, and design. He is Clinical Full Professor of Leadership in the Warrington College of Business at the University of Florida. An award-winning professor, he has created and taught more than 40 different courses for all collegiate levels; as well as designed programs for youth, international students, professional and executive education, and experiential abroad programs. He presently teaches courses in leadership theory and practice, and creativity and innovation.

Dr. Middlebrooks previously served as Director of Graduate Programs and Director of the Siegfried Leadership Initiative for Horn Entrepreneurship at the University of Delaware, where he also codeveloped the undergraduate major and minor in Leadership and minors in Integrated Design and Social Entrepreneurship. Prior to UD, he co-developed the doctoral program in leadership as a professor at Cardinal Stritch University, all after ten years in nonprofit leadership positions.

Dr. Middlebrooks is lead author of the textbook Discovering Leadership: Designing Your Success, now in its second edition; has published numerous articles and book chapters, and delivered hundreds of presentations. He is also co-author of Public Sector Leadership, co-creator of the Idea Fan Deck and Design Thinking Cards, and serves on the Editorial Board for the Journal of Leadership Studies.

A firm believer that leadership learning can benefit everyone and every field, Dr. Middlebrooks consults and facilitates workshops for a wide variety of organizations and audiences. His current scholarly interests focus on methods of leadership education and the integration of leadership, creativity, and design thinking. Dr. Middlebrooks has a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He resides in Gainesville, Florida, with his wife and collaborator Dr. Jules Bruck.