1. Educational leadership program at Louisiana State University. Her research interests include the professional development of practicing principals, the principal's role in induction, and principal leadership in charter middle grades schools. Her most recent work has appeared in Mentoring & Tutoring, Teaching and Teacher Education, the Journal of School Leadership, and Research in Middle Level Education.
2. Literacy and urban education in the School of Education, Louisiana State University. Sulentic Dowell's research agenda includes three strands and focuses on literacy in urban settings—specifically, the complexities of literacy leadership in public, nonpublic, and charter settings; providing access to literature; and service learning as a pathway to preparing preservice teaches to teach literacy authentically in urban environs.