K-12 Educational Leadership Concentration

Dissertation Title: Perceived Principal Servant Leadership and Teacher Stress

Dissertation Committee:

Benjamin S. Selznick, Ph.D. (chair)            Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                                  Strategic Leadership

Steven Purcell, Ph.D.                                College of Education, JMU

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership Concentration

Dissertation Title: The Influence of Engaging Centralized Student Support on the
Academic Achievement of Student Veterans

Dissertation Committee:

Benjamin S. Selznick, Ph.D. (chair)            Strategic Leadership

Karen A. Ford, DSW                                  Strategic Leadership

Jennifer A. Taylor, Ph.D.                             Department of Political Science, JMU

Dr. Adimado recently accepted a new position as the Director of Consulting and Assessment Services of BoardSource! BoardSource is the recognized leader in nonprofit board leadership and supports, trains, and educates nonprofit leaders from across the United States and throughout the world. Congratulations, Dr. Adimado!

Dr. Hall was appointed Interim Director of the Education Support Center in the College of Education at JMU in July 2018. Dr. Hall also served on the College of Education’s accreditation team which finished its CAEP (Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation) site visit in November with a recommendation for full accreditation of teacher preparation programs with no areas for improvement. Congratulations to you and your team, Dr. Hall!

Dr. Hall is also working as a co-principal investigator on a JMU IDEA (Innovative Diversity Efforts Award) grant for Interfaith Engagement of JMU Students in Our Community this year.**

Nonprofit alumnus Dr. Sam Nickels and co-authors Campos Tomasino, Mariely Flamenco Arvaiza & Hunter had an article published in The Pan American Journal of Public Health (PAJPH) in October! 

Nickels SV, Campos Tomasino M, Flamenco Arvaiza N, Hunter CA. Access to mental health care in El Salvador: a case study of progress toward decentralization. Rev Panam Salud Publica. 2018;42:e172. https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2018.172

Dr. Chung was recently appointed as Director of Mary Baldwin University's MBA program! Congratulations on your promotion, Dr. Chung!

Dr. Chung also presented at ARNOVA in Austin, TX and ILA's Global Conferece in West Palm Beach, FL this year.

Chung, S. (2018, November). Cultural Concerns on Redesigning Organizational Structure: A Case Study of an INGO. Paper presented at Association for Research for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action 47th Annual Conference, Austin, TX.

Chung, S. (2018, October). Servant Leadership in Nonprofits: Do National Cultures Matter?. Poster presented at International Leadership Association 20th Anniversary Global Conference, West Palm Beach, FL.  

Dr. Laura Hunt Trull received two awards this fall for teaching and service!

Dr. Trull was one of six JMU faculty members selected to receive a Research and Scholarship Outstanding Faculty Award for the 2018 fiscal year. Awardees were selected based on teaching, scholarship, service, and mentoring through externally funded projects. In addition to her role as an Assistant Professor of Social Work at JMU, Dr. Trull teaches a Grant Writing course funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation. 

On November 14, 2018 Dr. Trull was also awarded the Virginia Rural Health Association Charles Crowder, Jr. Award for encouraging students to work in rural areas. This award recognizes outstanding individual commitment and service to the advancement of rural health in Virginia.

Dr. Pyle has been continuing her research and scholarship on leadership and student development! She presented alongside Steve Grande (Director of Community Service-Learning, JMU) and Libby Nutt Williams (St. Mary’s College of Maryland) at ILA's Global Conference in West Palm Beach, FL in October.

Williams, E.N., Grande, S., Nakamura, Y.T., Pyle, L.K., Shaw, G. (2018, October). Authentic and Sustainable Leadership: International Qualitative Study of Leaders. Paper presented at International Leadership Association 20th Anniversary Global Conference, West Palm Beach, FL. 

Dr. Pyle and Anna Lehnen, formerly with JMU UPB and now with Duke University, co-authored a chapter in Applying Student Development Theories Holistically: Exemplar Programming in Higher Education, edited by Katherine Branch, Jeanne Hart-Steffes, Christine Wilson. Chapter 6 is entitled “Ethical and Moral Reasoning Development Across Campus” and weaves theory (Perry, Kohlberg, and Gillgan) with practice (developing ethical reasoning skills).

Lehnen, A.R. & Pyle, L.K. (2019) Chapter 6, Ethical and Moral Reasoning Development Across Campus. Branch, K., Hart-Steffes, J., Wilson,C. (Ed.) Applying Student Development Theories Holistically Exemplar Programming in Higher Education, 1st Edition. New York, NY: Routledge.

Dr. Pyle and Dr. Bill Hawk (Chair, Madison Collaborative) lead a pre-conference workshop at the 2018 SACSCOC Annual meeting in New Orleans on December 8^th on “Reimagining Ethics Education Using Eight Key Questions."

Dr. Fagan and Dr. Malia Willey (Humanities Librarian, JMU) gave two presentations at the 2018 LITA Library Technology Forum in November!

Fagan, J.C. & Wiley, M. (2018, November). Access to Humanities Scholarship through Public Search Engines. Presentation at 2018 Library and Information Technology Association Forum, Minneapolis, MN.

Fagan, J.C. & Wiley, M. (2018, November). Developing Communication Plans to Support Technology Changes. Presentation at 2018 Library and Information Technology Association Forum, Minneapolis, MN.

Dr. Daisha M. Merritt accepted a new position at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s College of Business in the Department of Management in August of this year. Dr. Merritt will be teaching Strategy as well as spearheading a new Strategic Initiative on community engagement and engaged learning.

Dr. Merritt also presented a poster and chaired two in paper sessions at #ARNOVA18 this year!

Merritt, D.M. (2018, November). Community Engagement, Activism, Social Justice… But what about the academics? Poster presented at Association for Research for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action 47th Annual Conference, Austin, TX.

Back in June, Dr. Strine-Patterson accepted a new position at Appalachian State University as the Director of Student Affairs Assessment! Congratulations!

Dr. Hartzler-Weakley was recognized as a “Community Bright Star” for her work on improving high school graduation rates in the Harrisonburg City/Rockingham County area by the United Way at the Unite: Honoring the Bright Stars in Our Community event.

A condensed version of Dr. Akers’s dissertation entitled "Organizational Factors Associated with Quality Perinatal Care" will be published in the January-March 2019 issue (38:1) of The Health Care Manager. Co-authors include Dr. Sloan, Dr. Ford, and Dr. Jon Thompson (Professor Emeritus, Health Sciences, JMU), all of which were members of Dr. Akers's dissertation committee.  

Dr. Akers serves as the Program Chair of the Bachelor of Science in Maternal Child Health: Human Lactation Program and the Master of Arts in Health & Wellness Program at Union Institute & University. Both programs earned accreditation through the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP)! 

Dr. Paul Mabrey and collaboraters had an article published in Volume 4 of The Communication Center Journal. The full text article is available at http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ccj/article/view/1716/pdf_1. 

Clarke, K., Mabrey III, P.E., & Schubert, C. (2018) Strengthening curricular relationships between libraries and communication centers: A case study at James Madison University. The Communication Center Journal, 57-67.

Dr. Mabrey received a grant from 4VA for a project entitled “Debate as a tool to improve civic learning and faculty engagement in support of institutions meeting SCHEV’s civic engagement education core competency.” Dr. Mabrey and his team have collaborated with VCU to support 18 different VCU and JMU faculty to redesign their courses to integrate debate or argument education for improving civic learning.

Dr. Mabrey was also selected to be the incoming Editor-in-Chief of The Communication Center Journal and was recently promoted to Assistant Professor in School of Communication Studies!

Congratulations on your many accomplishments this fall, Dr. Mabrey!

Nick Swayne

Nick Swayne and collaborators (Sean McCarthy, Audrey Barnes, Keith S Holland, Erica Lewis, Patrice Ludwig) presented a paper entitled “Making It: Institutionalizing Collaborative Innovation in Public Higher Education” at 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances (HEAd’18)

McCarthy, S., Barnes, A., Holland, K.S., Lewis, E., Ludwig, P., Swayne, N. (2018, June). Making It: Institutionalizing Collaborative Innovation in Public Higher Education. Paper session presented at the at 4th International Conference on Higher Education Advances, Valencia, Spain.

Guy deBrun

Guy DeBrun of our Postsecondary concentration will be serving as a reviewer for a submission to the Journal of Outdoor Recreation Education and Leadership (JOREL)! JORELJournal is the only peer-reviewed journal published in the United States with a specific focus on the areas of outdoor recreation, education, and leadership.

Brooke Z. Graham

Congratulations to Brooke Z. Graham, student of our Organizational Science and Leadership concentration, on her publication, co-authored with Dr. Cascio of University of Colorado, Denver, in Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management!

Brooke Z. Graham, Wayne F. Cascio, (2018) "The employer-branding journey: its relationship with cross-cultural branding, brand reputation, and brand repair", Management Research: Journal of the Iberoamerican Academy of Management, https://doi.org/10.1108/MRJIAM-09-2017-0779.

Congratulations to Guy deBrun on being awarded the annual Jim Rennie Leadership Award from the national Association for Outdoor Recreation and Education!

"The award recognizes a professional in the field who has had an outstanding impact on outdoor recreation and education as a whole and whose contributions surpass expectations."

Read more about Guy and his work and accomplishments as UREC’s Assistant Director for Adventure and TEAM Programs at https://www.jmu.edu/news/recreation/2018/10-29-AORE-Award-Winner.shtml. 

Elizabeth Narehood

Postsecondary Analysis and Leadership student Elizabeth Narehood was awarded a travel grant from the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to attend the 2018 SACSCOC Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA, December 8-11! Congratulations, Elizabeth!

Paul Morgan

Under the leadership and direction of our very own Paul Morgan, the Veterans Support Center of the University of Utah was awarded the 2018 Informed Decision Maker of the Year award in the education category from the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute in May of this year.

"Each year the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute recognizes individuals and organizations that work behind the scenes to help our community prosper. We call them Informed Decision Makers and select them based on criteria consistent with the core values of the Gardner Policy Institute - impact on the community, integrity, accountability, collaboration, and having a positive and passionate workplace. It's our pleasure to highlight the Veterans Support Center for their good work that makes Utah a place where we all want to live."

Note that Dr. Paul Morgan was a doctoral candidate at the time of this announcement in May 2018. 

Under Nick Swayne’s leadership as the Executive Director of the 4-VA Initiative, the JMU X-Labs received the Governor's Technology Award in the Innovative Use of Technology in Education category for the autonomous vehicle course! Nick and Assistant Director of 4-VA Kelsey Tate accepted the award at the Commonwealth of Virginia Innovative Technology Symposium (COVITS) on September 5, 2018. This is the second year in a row that JMU X-Labs has received the Governor’s Technology Award.

Read more at https://www.jmu.edu/news/2018/09/05-govstechnologyaward.shtml. 

Michael Speight

In July of this year, Michael Speight of our Postsecondary concentration accepted a new position at University of Virginia Health Foundation as Associate Director of Development for Cancer Programs.

Jalal Maqableh

Organizational Science and Leadership student provided his expert insight and advice on how immigrant entrepreneurs can be successful in the United States for an online aritcle from Business News Daily "Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Everything You Need to Know to Get Started" (full article by Matt D'Angelo available at https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/11100-immigrant-entrepreneurs-guide-visa-new-business.html). As part of his doctoral assistantship duties, Jalal serves the Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center as their Inclusive Entrepreneurship Business Advisor. 

SSLS had quite the presence at the 2018 Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges 123rd Annual Meeting in New Orleans, LA! Postsecondary student Kristi Shackelford co-presented "Best Practices for Governance Board Self-Evaluations" with Sarah McDonald (Outreach and Engagement, JMU). Postsecondary alumna Dr. Lori Pyle co-presented a pre-conference workshop with Dr. Bill Hawk (JMU, Ethical Reasoning in Action) entitled "Reimagining Ethics Education Using Eight Key Questions." Elizabeth Narehood, also of our Postsecondary concentration, was awarded a travel grant to attend the conference by the SACS Professional Development office!

Dr. Selznick presented two papers at #ASHE2018 in Tampa, Florida this November!

Mayhew, M.J., Selznick, B.S., Zhang, L., Barnes, A., & Staples, A. (2018, November). Innovation is for Everyone: A Curricular Approach to Building Innovation Capacities. Paper presented at Association for the Study of Higher Education 43^rd Annual Conference, Tampa, FL.

Abstract: This study evaluated the effects of varying exposure to theoretically-derived innovation curricula on developing undergraduates’ innovation capacities. After accounting for selection and pre-test scores, results suggested that full and partial curricular settings promoted student development in this area. Discussion and contributions are offered.

Selznick, B.S., Culver, K.C., & Trolian, T.L. (2018, November). Teaching, Learning, and Assessing Critical Being. Paper presented at Association for the Study of Higher Education 43^rd Annual Conference, Tampa, FL.

Abstract: This study challenges existing frameworks and measures associated with promoting critical thinking through curricular practices and offers a new approach drawn from Davies (2015): critical being. Results of longitudinal quantitative analyses suggest that several in-class practices, most notably engaging students in conversations concerning sociocultural contexts, influenced development on this outcome.

Interested in learning more about research presented at #ASHE2018?

Browse the online 43^rd Annual Conference Program

Explore #ASHE2018 on Twitter

Dr. Sloan presented two papers at #ARNOVA18 this year in Austin, TX! 

Sloan, M.F. & Charles, C. (2018, November). Willingness to Pay: Are Membership Dues a Substitute for Donations? Paper presented at Association for Research for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action 47th Annual Conference, Austin, TX.

Abstract: Using an experimental design based on willingness to pay, substitution, and crowd out theories, this study tests the willingness of association members to provide a private contribution across three different membership dues scenarios. To examine the interaction between of the crowding out theory and level of public benefit, the study will assess the following hypotheses:

H1: A negative relationship between private donations and membership fees will exist in organizations with higher private benefit (crowd out effect).

H2: A positive relationship between donations and membership fees will exist in organizations with higher public benefit (crowd in theory).

Charles, C., Sloan, M.F., & Schubert, P. (2018, November). The Impact of Overhead Costs on Donations to Human Service Nonprofits: A Survey Experiment. Paper presented at Association for Research for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action 47th Annual Conference, Austin, TX.

Abstract: The overhead ratio is a much contested accountability metric; however, it persists in use across the nonprofit sector. Using an experimental design, this study tests whether differing overhead ratios impact donors’ decisions to give. This project hopes to inform our wider community about the true full costs of delivering programs, how to frame overhead costs to donors, and whether and to what extent overhead costs is related to funding and mission.

Interested in learning more about research presented at #ARNOVA18?

Browse the conference program online.