The Annual Doctoral Research Symposium 2022: A Great Success!

The National Louis University Annual Doctoral Research Symposium showcases the outstanding scholarship and research conducted by NLU's National College of Education and College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences doctoral candidates across multiple disciplines. Designed to celebrate thought leadership and to foster conversations across our academic community, this year’s event was fully online and included an alumni panel discussion, virtual poster session, and dissertation research presentations. 

This year’s symposium on May 12 was met with great success, with nearly 150 NLU community members who attended throughout the evening via Zoom. The event’s kickoff included welcome remarks from Kelli Johnson, Dean of the College of Psychology and Behavioral Sciences, followed by the inaugural presentation of the Dissertation Awards presented by Ryan Bartelmay, Vice Provost of Faculty Support. 

NLU launched the Outstanding Dissertation Awards this year to recognize exemplary, mission-aligned research and scholarship at the doctoral level. The 30 award nominations displayed the vibrancy and strength of our doctoral community, with strong connections between experience, practice, and research, and commitment to scholarship. There were three Award categories and four winners: 

Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Dissertations that address inequities experienced by marginalized people.  

Winner: Dr. Celeste A. Jackson, Community Psychology Program, Advisor Dr. Bradley Olson, Dissertation title : Examining Protective Factors That Promote Resilience Among Children With An Incarcerated Parent

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Winner: Dr. Hyatt Nadar, Clinical Psychology Program, Advisor Dr. Sandra Zakowski, Dissertation title: Exploration of the Link Between Migration and Acculturation Related-Stress, Attachment Style, and Psychological Distress in Arab Immigrants, Refugees, and Asylees

Advancing Professional Practice: Dissertations that contribute to a body of knowledge about complex problems of practice.

Winner: Dr. Lisa M. Richardson, Educational Leadership, Advisor Dr. Carla Sparks, Dissertation title: An Evaluation of Virtual School’s Preparation of Second Grade Students for Third Grade Reading Proficiency

Innovative Research Design: Dissertations that employ inventive methodologies to address novel questions

Winner: Dr. Azra Naqvi, Educational Leadership, Advisor Dr. Seema Imam, Dissertation title: Studying the impact of grit in the learning of young children by way of implementing a student-teacher mentorship program in elementary grades

Following the awards announcements, Eddie Phillips, Provost, moderated the keynote panel consisting of four NLU doctoral program alumni: JoAnn Kutuskos, ‘21 Ed.D. Counselor Education and Supervision, Aleli Vaquez Santiago, ‘20 Ed.D. Educational Leadership, Adelfio Garcia, ‘18 Ed.D. Teaching and Learning: Reading, Language, and Literacy, and Vanessa Goodar, ‘21 Ph.D. Community Psychology. Each discussed their own dissertation research experience and how they utilize their work in their current careers as well as provided advice for current students.  
Attendees then had the opportunity to attend different breakout sessions where doctoral candidates presented their research and welcomed questions and comments about their work. Doctoral candidates who are early in their research posted their work in the Symposium Poster Session Padlet page where NLU community members could share suggestions and feedback as well. 

Click here to view the poster session Padlet. To view recordings from this year’s event and for future event information, check out the NLU Doctoral Symposium event website.