Below are past winners of the Dissertation of the Year Award. Record of awardees dates back to 2005. 

2018 Award Recipients

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Dissertation of the Year 

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Scott G. Drexler  
• Chair:  Dr. Elizabeth Young
• Committee Members:  Dr. Elizabeth Thompson and Dr. Jared Padgett
• Dissertation Title:  Mindful Awareness of Internal and External Influences on HRO Leaders: Heuristic Inquiry

Dissertation of the Year 

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Kristine F. Meze-Burtis
• Chair:  Dr. Sandra Nunn
• Committee Members:  Dr. Patricia D'Urso and Dr. Ina marie Peoples
• Dissertation Title:  Intrinsic Case Study on the Influence of Social Media Content on a Zoological Organization.

Dissertation of the Year 

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Kelly Rhodes
• Chair:  Dr. Kevin Bottomley
• Committee Members:  Dr. Patrick Farabaugh and Dr. Sandra M. Lane
• Dissertation Title:  Influencing Corporate Social Responsibility Decision Making in a Major League Baseball Team: A Case Study

2017 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Business

• Award Recipient:  Daniel Roberts
• Chair:  Joann Kovacich
• Committee Members:  R.J. Gore and Melvin J. Rivers
• Dissertation Title:  A Comprehensive Plan for Providing Chaplaincy Support to Wounded Female Soldiers: A Delphi Study

Dissertation of the Year – Education

• Award Recipient:  Teresa Hutchinson
• Chair:  Arfe Ozcan
• Committee Members:  Carol Hall and Barbara Trent
• Dissertation Title:  Assessment of Complex Simulation Value in MBA Courses: A Quantitative Ex Post Facto Study

Dissertation of the Year – Healthcare

• Award Recipient:  Patricia Walker
• Chair:  Joann Kovacich
• Committee Members:  Margaret Kroposki and Stephanie Hoffman
• Dissertation Title:  Nursing Ethics in Stem Cell Research: Perceived Attitudes and Beliefs of Nurses

2013 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Mukengeshayi Tshimanga
• Chair:  Dr. Marilyn Simon
• Committee Members: George Graham and Edward Paluch
• Dissertation Title: Universal Health Care in the State of Georgia: A Mixed Methods Modified Delphi Study

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Joseph Hage
• Chair:  Dr. Richard Schuttler
• Committee Members: Ruby Rouse and Barry Posner
• Dissertation Title:  Influence of Religion and Religiosity on Leadership Practices in the Workplace: A Quantitative Correlation Study

2012 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Donald Ray Williams
• Chair:  Dr. Regina Casrter-Trice
• Committee Members: Debra Brown and Sandra Lane
• Dissertation Title: Rural HealthCare: A Phenomenological Study of Factors that Increase Diseases in Rural Communities

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. David Westley Duren
• Chair:  Dr. John Johnson
• Committee Members: Joshua Fischer and Michelle Lavicka
• Dissertation Title:  Leadership Views and Perceptions: A Study of Accounting Practices in Sacred Institutions

2011 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Kristine Wheeler
• Chair:  Dr. Avis Kunz
• Committee Members: Ronald C. Johnson and Dorothy Williams
• Dissertation Title: Word Choice, Sentence Structure, and Tone in E-mails on Shared Message Understanding

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. David Eugene House
• Chair:  Dr. Mary Ann Wangemann
• Committee Members: Cheryl Cotton and Alan G. Walker
• Dissertation Title:  Investigating the Ability of an Existing Upward-Feedback Instrument to Predict Employee Intent to Leave

2010 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Ramon L. Benedetto
• Mentor:  Dr. Linda S. Wing
• Committee Members: Dr. George J. Graham and Dr. Gail A. Zwart
• Dissertation Title: An Ethnographic Study of Character-Based Culture in a Small Business Setting

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Amanda Peirano
• Mentor:  Dr. Sandra Pepicello Wise
• Committee Members: Dr. Ed Paluch and Dr. Michelle A. Rose
• Dissertation Title:  Spirituality and Quality of Life Among Individuals with Limb Amputation

2009 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Susan Anne Ziebarth
• Mentor:  Dr. Sandy Kolberg
• Committee Members: Dr. Craig Barton and Dr. Anthony Kortens
• Dissertation Title: The Paradox of Intention and CEO Leadership: A Dialogic Inquiry Action Research Study
• ProQuest Link

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Demetrio B. Nitafan
• Mentor:  Dr. Leo R. Stevens
• Committee Members: Dr. Aleta Best and Dr. Carla Thompson
• Dissertation Title:  Characteristics of Leadership Styles Influencing Mortgage Fraud Reduction

2008 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Mixed Methods

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Than Lam
• Mentor:  Dr. Theresa Lao
• Committee Members:  Dr. Ron Black and Dr. Marilyn Simon
• Dissertation Title:  Strategies for promoting business-IT fusion to meet organizational demands: A case study
• ProQuest Link

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Michael Bixenman
• Mentor:  Dr. Douglas Lepelley
• Committee members:  Dr. Sandra Gravett and Dr. Sandra Kolberg
• Dissertation title: Leading open innovation across global strategic alliances: A grounded theory study
• ProQuest link

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Kathleen Bonvicini
• Mentor:  Dr. Ruby Rouse
• Committee members: Dr. Michael Goldstein and Dr. David Hall
• Dissertation title: Physician empathy: Impact of communication training on physician behavior and patient perceptions
• ProQuest link

2007 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Mixed Methods

• Award Recipient: Dr. Eli Konorti
• Mentor:  Dr. Johnny Morris
• Committee members:  Dr. John NeNigris and Dr. Gerald Griffin
• Dissertation title:  The relationship between wealth creation and professional management in entrepreneurial enterprises
• ProQuest link

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Dean Fish
• Mentor:  Dr.  Sandra Kolberg
• Committee members:  Dr. John DeNigris and Dr. Jay Klagge
• Dissertation title: A study of entropy in post-merger and post-acquisition integration
• ProQuest link

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Anthony Yitts
• Mentor:  Dr. Tathagata Dasgupta
• Committee members:  Dr. Stephanie Hoffman and Dr. Jieffeng Xu
• Dissertation title:  A dynamically nonlinear approach to disruptive innovation analysis for appropriate leadership decision-making
• ProQuest link

2006 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Mixed Methods

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Michael Scharff
• Mentor name:  Dr. Freda Turner
• Committee members:  Dr. Kimberly Blum and Dr. Bahaudin Mujtaba
• Dissertation title:  A Study of the Dyadic Relationships Between Managers and Virtual Employees
• ProQuest link

Dissertation of the Year - Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Richard Dean Rowlett
• Mentor:  Dr. Freda Turner
• Committee members:  Dr. Deborah Schaff Johnson and Dr. Louise Underdahl
• Dissertation title:  Mergers and Acquisitions: A Phenomenological Case Study
• ProQuest link

Dissertation of the Year - Quantitative

• Award recipient:  Dr. Larry Buzan
• Mentor name:  Dr. Jay Klagge
• Committee members:  Dr. Marie Abram and Dr. Anthony Kortens
• Dissertation title:  The Relationship Among Cultural Distance, Social Ties, and Tacit Knowledge Sharing in a Multinational Corporation
• ProQuest link

2005 Award Recipients

Dissertation of the Year – Best Qualitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Kevin J. Baker
• Mentor:  Dr. Marilyn Simon
• Committee members:  Dr. Kimberly Blum and Dr. Deborah Schaff Johnson
• Dissertation title:  A Model for leading Online K-12 Learning Environments

Dissertation of the Year – Best Quantitative

• Award Recipient:  Dr. Gloria D. Abe
• Mentor:  Dr. Carolyn Salerno
• Committee members:  Dr. Anthony W. Poet and Dr. Fred Turner
• Dissertation title:  Leader Emotional Intelligence and Employee Turnover