strategic leadership fall 2017 newsletter
In this issue...

Celebrating December 2017 Graduates

SSLS will be celebrating its largest graduating class to date on December 15! Seven students will be hooded at Commencement Ceremony taking place in Wilson Hall Auditorium on Friday, December 15, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. SSLS will be hosting a dinner reception for our graduates before the ceremony 4:00-6:00pm in Lakeview Hall 1104/1106. All SSLS students and alumni are invited to join. 

Nonprofit Graduates

Lisa Hamlett Akers, Ph.D.

Lisa Hamlett Akers, Ph.D.

Dissertation Title: Organizational Factors Associated with Quality Perinatal Care

Dissertation Committee:

Margaret F. Sloan, Ph.D. (chair)           Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                            Strategic Leadership

Jon Thompson, Ph.D.                          Professor Emeritus, Health Sciences, JMU

Tamera Eberly, Ph.D.                          University of Virginia

Roxann Lynne Allen, Ph.D.

Roxann Lynne Allen, Ph.D.

Dissertation Title: Beyond Beneficiaries of Corporate Philanthropy: The Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility in Nonprofit Firms

Dissertation Committee:

Karen A. Ford, DSW (chair)              Strategic Leadership

Margaret F. Sloan, Ph.D.                  Strategic Leadership

James Leaman, Ph.D.                      Eastern Mennonite University

Marshall Pattie, Ph.D.                      College of Business, JMU

Calvin Chung, Ph.D.

Sung il Calvin Chung, Ph.D.

 

Dissertation Title: Cultural Influences On Nonprofit Servant Leadership

Dissertation Committee:

Margaret F. Sloan, Ph.D. (chair)            Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                             Strategic Leadership

Adam J. Vanhove, Ph.D.                       Strategic Leadership

Terrence S. Fernsler, Ph.D.

Terrence S. Fernsler, Ph.D.

 

Dissertation Title: Developmental Evaluation: Complexity Leadership Theory In Practice

Dissertation Committee:

Margaret F. Sloan, Ph.D. (chair)            Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                             Strategic Leadership

Lisa McGuire, Ph.D.                              Social Work, JMU

Postsecondary Graduates

Paul E. Mabrey III, Ph.D.

Paul E. Mabrey III, Ph.D.

Dissertation Title: Argument Education in Higher Education: A Validation Study

Dissertation Committee:

T. Dary Erwin, Ph.D. (chair)           Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                      Strategic Leadership

John D. Hathcoat, Ph.D.                Graduate Psychology, JMU

Heather J. Strine-Patterson, Ph.D.

Heather J. Strine-Patterson, Ph.D.

Dissertation Title: The Impact of Student Leadership Engagement on Meaning in Life and Work during College

Dissertation Committee:

T. Dary Erwin, Ph.D. (chair)           Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                      Strategic Leadership

John D. Hathcoat, Ph.D.                Graduate Psychology, JMU

K-12 Graduates

Christopher James Rehm, Ph.D.

Christopher James Rehm, Ph.D.

 

Dissertation Title: Leader Self‐Efficacy in Youth Leader Development: A Mixed Methods Study

Dissertation Committee:

Karen A. Ford, DSW (chair)                   Strategic Leadership

Margaret F. Sloan, Ph.D.                       Strategic Leadership

A. Renee Staton, Ph.D., LPC                  Graduate Psychology, JMU

Micela Leis, Ph.D.                                 Center for Creative Leadership

Alumni News

Sam Nickels, Ph.D.

Sam Nickels, Ph.D.

Dr. Nickels continues to be an active scholar-practitioner and advocate for mental health. He attended and presented research at the 3rd annual Regional Mental Health Congress for consumers and family caregivers in Panama (Nov 7-10, 2017). This year Dr. Nickels began consulting on legal cases for persons with severe mental illness who are in danger of being deported back to El Salvador, acting as a "country conditions expert" to provide lawyers and their clients with testimony regarding how people with such illnesses might be treated should they be removed to El Salvador. His efforts and work help prevent those suffering from mental illness from being deported where they may may suffer irreparable harm, abuse, neglect, or even death, and thus meet criteria to prevent deportation based on asylum or convention on torture law.

Dr. Nickels and Dr. Ford also published a paper on the Leadership Instruments Library for Graduate Research (LIL). The LIL is an article created by Dr. Nickels consisting of over 100 instruments that are related to individual and organizational measures of leadership. Additional instruments that are indirectly related to leadership, for example, empowerment, are also included in the article. The LIL is accessible and available for download here: https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/lil/1.

Paul E. Mabrey, III, Ph.D.

Paul E. Mabrey, III, Ph.D.

Dr. Mabrey's co-authored essay “’Homeland Security: Fighting Terrorism Since 1492’: A public Chrono-Controversy” will be published in the edited book volume, Decolonizing Native American Rhetoric. Dr. Mabrey was also awarded top Argumentation and Forensics faculty paper from the Southern States Communication Association for his paper based off of studies conducted for his dissertation, “Argument Education in Higher Education: Preliminary Validity and Reliability Evidence for an Argumentation Assessment Instrument.”

Lori Pyle, Ph.D.

Lori Pyle, Ph.D.

Dr. Pyle presented a workshop entitled “Ethical Reasoning: A Skill for All Times” and a collaborative presentation based on a work-in-progress qualitative research study entitled “Themes, Dialectics, and Paradoxes of Authentic and Sustainable Leadership” at the International Leadership Association in Brussels, Belgium this past October. Co-presenters included Yoshie Tomozumi Nakamura (Columbia University) and Steve Grande of Community Service-Learning at JMU, among others.

Dr. Pyle is part of a team of women on campus who are offering a leadership workshop series in the spring for graduating women called The Future is Female. The workshop series is the result of an IDEA grant awarded to Kathleen Sensabaugh (Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices) and Misty Newman (Community Service-Learning).

Lisa Hamlett Akers, Ph.D.

Lisa Hamlett Akers, Ph.D.

In September, Dr. Akers accepted a position as Program Chair and Faculty member of the B.S. in Human Lactation and M.A. in Health & Wellness programs at Union Institute & University.

Student News

Jim Krauss Serves as Panelist in Madison Vision Series Panel: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act

jim krauss madison vision series

Jim Krauss, student of the Organizational Science and Leadership concentration, served as a panelist in the Madison Vision Series Panel: The Impact of the Affordable Care Act in early November. Jim has more than 30 years of executive leadership experience in healthcare and served as president of Sentara RMH Medical Center and corporate vice-president of Sentara Healthcare prior to retiring from his positions to pursue the Strategic Leadership program. Other panel members included William A. Hazel Jr. (Secretary of Health and Human Resources for the Commonwealth of Virginia),  Michael M. Dudley (President of Optima Health and a Senior Vice President of Sentara Healthcare), and Eric Major (President, CEO and Co-Founder of K2M, Inc.).

Watch the Panel


ahmet shala

Ahmet Shala

Organizational Science and Leadership

Ahmet Shala was mentioned in the President's introduction in the Fall 2017 issue of Madison Magazine! Mr. Shala has played a key role in establishing JMU's relationship with Kosovo, and recently accompanied President Alger, JMU faculty, and administrators on a visit to Kosovo to meet with leaders from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, and public and private institutions. The issue of Madison Magazine is available for download here.


tiffany brutus
Tiffany Brutus
Organizational Science and Leadership
Adam Lindberg
Adam Lindberg
Organizational Science and Leadership

Organizational Science and Leadership students Tiffany Brutus and Adam Lindberg are serving as members of the Working Group on Student Campus Climate as part of the JMU Task Force on Inclusion! The University Task Force coordinates closely with the existing Diversity Councils and other relevant resources on campus, and is intended to help facilitate discussion and sharing of ideas throughout the university to add to the ongoing conversation around inclusion.

 

Student Publications

Nick Swayne
Nick Swayne
Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Nick Swayne's case study "The Virginia Drones Project" was published in the Council on Undergraduate Research's Case Studies in Innovation and Collaboration! The case study focuses on JMU's UAV (drone) class where undergraduate students form cross-disciplinary teams prototype solutions to real-world challenges using UAVs. The UAV course is taught in Lakeview Hall's STEMx-Lab, which is one of the three JMU X-Labs on campus.


Melissa Altman
Melissa Altman
Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Melissa's book review of Tufekci, Z.: Twitter and Tear Gas: The Power and Fragility of Networked Protest by our was published in the November issue of VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations!

Citation: Altman, M. Voluntas (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11266-017-9927-0

Meet the New Cohort!

SSLS admitted 3 new students during spring 2017, and 8 new students this fall semester. Click on their name or photo to learn more about our newest Ph.D. students and be sure to introduce yourself if you see them around Lakeview!

Ashley Graham

Ashley Graham

Nonprofit and Community Leadership

Kelly Blosser

Kelly Blosser

Organizational Science and Leadership

Johnny Ginnity

Johnny Ginnity

Organizational Science and Leadership

Jalal Maqableh

Jalal Maqableh

Organizational Science and Leadership

Melissa Altman

Melissa Altman

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Guy deBrun

Guy deBrun

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Dan Finseth

Dan Finseth

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Sevinj Iskandarova

Sevinj Iskandarova

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Theresa Lind

Theresa Lind

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Elizabeth Narehood

Elizabeth Narehood

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Kristi Shackelford

Kristi Shackelford

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

Milestones

December/January Comps

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

  • Lindsay King
  • Jonathan Stewart
  • Wendy Lushbaugh

K-12 Educational Leadership

  • Greg Harris
ABD!!!

Nonprofit and Community Leadership

  • Theresa Reimbold
  • Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley
  • Geary Cox, II

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership

  • Natasha DuMerville
  • Paul Morgan
  • Cathy Snyder
Fall 2017 Course Offerings

LEAD 700 Introduction to Leadership Studies and Ethics, Dr. Vanhove

LEAD 752 Strategic Organizational Design, Dr. Vanhove

LEAD 761 Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector, Dr. Sloan

LEAD 763 Philanthropy and Resource Development, Dr. Sloan

LEAD 800 Research Project, Dr. Selznick

LEAD 900 Dissertation

Spring 2018 Course Offerings

LEAD 703 Elective in Postsecondary Leadership, Dr. Selznick

LEAD 750 Organizational Science Theory and Change, Dr. Vanhove

LEAD 753 Research in Organizational Science, Dr. Vanhove

LEAD 760 Proseminar in Principles of Nonprofit Organizations, Dr. Sloan

LEAD 780 Policy Development in Postsecondary, Dr. Selznick

LEAD 891 Externship, Dr. Ford

LEAD 900 Dissertation, Ford, Selznick, Sloan, and Vanhove,

Faculty Conference Presentations and Publications

Dr. Sloan

Margaret Sloan, Ph.D.

Conference Presentations:

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) annual conference, paper presentation, “Testing the Influence of Public Motivation Theory and Transformational Leadership on Nonprofit Employee Satisfaction:  A Structural Equation Analysis,” (with Lindsay Miller King, Lisa Akers, and Kimberlee Hartzler-Weakley), November 2017, Grand Rapids, MI *

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) annual conference, paper presentation, “Organizational Debt in Arts Nonprofits:  Testing the Dynamic Trade-off Theory,” (with Cleopatra Charles - Rutgers University), November 2017, Grand Rapids, MI

Dr. Ford

Karen Ford, DSW

Conference Presentation:

Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action (ARNOVA) annual conference, paper presentation “Creating Scholar Leaders: A case for experiential learning at the PhD level,” November 2017, Grand Rapids, MI.

Dr. Selznick

Ben Selznick, Ph.D.

Conference Presentations:

Selznick, B. S., & Mayhew, M. J. (November, 2017). Developing first-year students’ innovation capacities. Research paper to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Houston, TX.

Culver, K.C., Selznick, B., & Trolian, T. (November, 2017). Rethinking critical thinking: A measure of critical being in an era of accountability. Roundtable session to be presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Houston, TX.

Selznick, B. (November, 2017) The American Jewish student paradox: Marginalized, minoritized, but not oppressed? In Religion on college campuses: Experiences of Muslim, Jewish, Christian, and religiously unaffiliated students in the United States and United Kingdom. Topical paper session presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Houston, TX.

Dr. Selznick also served as a discussant for a session titled: New models for belonging, retention, and persistence at ASHE 2017.

Publication:

Selznick, B.S. & Mayhew, M.J. Res High Educ (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11162-017-9486-7

Forthcoming Events

December 15th

SSLS Dinner Reception for December Graduates

4:00-6:00 pm Lakeview Hall 1104/1106

Graduate School Commencement Ceremony

7:00 pm Wilson Hall Auditorium

January 4th

CFI's January Symposium

Learn more here

January 25th

Can Innovation Be Taught? (Scholarly Talk/Workshop, Dr. Ben Selznick)

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM

Student Success Center Room 4047

January 26th

Can Innovation Be Taught? (Scholarly Talk/Workshop, Dr. Ben Selznick)

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM

Rose Library room 5211

February 23rd

SSLS Research Forum

4:30 PM - 6:30 PM

Lakeview Hall 1104/1106

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