Ed.D. Graduates Share Leadership Research, Experiences

This spring, the Ed.D. in Executive Leadership Program has been hosting a leadership and research panel discussion series to serve as a catalyst for relevant leadership dialogue that impacts the community in areas of higher education, P-12 education, and health care. The series, facilitated by a program faculty member, features recent graduates who present their dissertation research to current candidates of the program.

The first session featured Dr. Ramon De Los Santos, Dr. Delores Patterson, and Dr. Carl Stokes who presented, “How Leaders can Influence Persistence to Graduation in Higher Education.” Tony Chiarlitti, a faculty member in the program’s Iona College location, served as the facilitator.

De Los Santos, who serves as interim assistant dean of student affairs at LaGuardia Community College of the City University of New York, shared his dissertation topic that focused on community college graduates’ perceptions of the effect of cocurricular involvement on their educational success and career skill development. Patterson, who serves as an assistant professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Monroe College, discussed her research which was on first-generation African American alumnae perspectives on persistence to degree completion at a private urban college. And Stokes, an award-winning social worker, educator, and speaker from Buffalo, presented his dissertation work, “A Phenomenological Study of Perseverance in Black Student-Fathers in Community Colleges.”

The second session, “Rural Education Issues form a Leadership Perspective,” was facilitated by Dr. Marie Cianca and focused on P-12 education. The featured panelists were Dr. Bonnie Cazer, Dr. Matt Frahm, and Dr. Jennifer Sinsebox.

Cazer, a member of Cohort 6 in the program’s Onondaga Community College location and elementary school principal at Marcus Whitman Central School District, shared her research study on rural elementary principals in Western and Central New York and perceptions of isolation. Frahm, who serves as the superintendent of the Naples Central School District, shared his dissertation, “The Impact of Leadership Behaviors on Teacher Retention in Rural Schools in New York State.” Sinsebox, executive director of curriculum and data management for the Wheatland-Chili Central School District and an adjunct professor for the SUNY Brockport Educational Leadership Program, presented her research which focused on supervision and evaluation practices that impact teacher learning.

The final session, ““Leading Effectively in Health Care Settings,” will be hosted on Wednesday, April 7 at 5:30 p.m. Panelists will include Dr. Nadjete Natchaba, Dr. April Aycock, and Dr. Tanya Henderson.

To learn more about the session, contact Betsy Christiansen at echristiansen@sjfc.edu.