PhD in Organizational Leadership

PhD IN ORGANIZATIONAL LEADERSHIP

The

College of Business and Leadership

MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR

Th e Journey to Explore, Lead, and Transform

Imagine a traveling group: one that started small at first, has added new travelers every year, and has dropped some off at their new destinations. The group is traveling on. Outsiders may wonder who the travelers are, why they travel together, and what they do while traveling or being dropped off. I’d say, “Come and see.”

In 2007 we welcomed the first cohort of students to this traveling group called the PhD in Organizational Leadership program at Eastern University. These students were looking for opportunities to explore leadership with depth; to lead with relevant framework, knowledge, and skills; and to transform their environments into flourishing work places! So they, along with PhD faculty and staff, took off on the journey to explore, lead, and transform. Since then we have helped students arrive at their destinations successfully and receive their PhDs, while adding a new cohort of students annually. Along the way, we have laughed, cried, and celebrated achievements together. In the process, our students have gained confidence as scholars, relevant leaders, and courageous transformers. We are continuing the journey to contribute to the creation of a better world through the ethical, transformative, and relevant scholarship and practice of leadership.

This book shares stories from our students, alumni, faculty, and friends about how we explore, lead, and transform as relevant and responsible organizational leaders. I invite you to come and hear our stories. If you would like to join this traveling group, we would be delighted to welcome you. Come and see if this group is a place for you to discover, respond to, or realize your calling as a confident, competent, and just leader that this world and your workplace need!

With Blessings,

Heewon Chang, PhD Professor and Chair PhD in Organizational Leadership

WE’RE BETTER TOGETHER

Our PhD students explore leadership through coursework and dissertation research. In class, students gain new understanding about diverse leadership topics. Students produce new knowledge by conducting original research for their dissertation. This exploration does not occur alone. You will learn, study, and collaborate with a cohort of fellow leaders from diverse organizational and geographic contexts. Dedicated faculty with varying expertise mentor and accompany you in your exploration.

COURAGE TO EXPLORE

For Carron Odokara, diversity is the spice of life. Diverse pursuits mark her life: successful IT manager at Ford Motor Company, associate pastor at her church, and, most recently, PhD student at Eastern University. Ironically, “PhD student” was not on her mind several years ago. Carron had already clinched a master’s degree in engineering and another one in divinity. Getting one more piece of paper—especially one she remembered her mother struggling greatly for—was not her priority.

from many places in the United States and countries like Uganda and Malawi. They also represented diverse professional backgrounds: business, non-profit, and academia. The result of their diverse backgrounds has been a rich learning environment and even richer friendships. This, Carron considers, is the greatest gift of all.

Nevertheless, time passed and her fascination with diversity compelled her to pursue a PhD. At Eastern University, she found the right place to begin her new academic venture. In an ironic twist, the element she overlooked as she researched PhD programs ultimately created the greatest value: the cohort model. Carron lights up when she talks about her cohort. For one, it was diverse. Her classmates came

To this day, even during dissertation years, her cohort finds time to bond and challenge each other to maintain their PhD scholarly pursuits outside of the classroom and workplace. Together, they attend academic conferences, write journal articles, and make it a point to catch up every month. Carron’s cohort experience is a living example that “whoever walks with the wise becomes wise” (Proverbs 13:20 ESV).

For Carron, getting her PhD has been adventure, one shared in the warmth of friendships and the spirit of camaraderie.

FACULTY Spotlight

DR. KATHY-ANN C. HERNANDEZ

Professor of Organizational Leadership

Coordinator of Educational Administration Concentration

Dr. Hernandez has more than twenty years of experience as an educator at various academic levels in the United States and the Caribbean. She is a scholar/activist who has collaborated to conceptualize, secure funding, implement, manage, and evaluate university-community partnership programs. Dr. Hernandez is a co-editor of the International Journal of Multicultural Education and has served as a leader in the American Educational Research Association (AERA).

Education

B.A. in English, Andrews University

M.A. in Educational Administration and Supervision, Andrews University

Ph.D. in Educational Psychology, Temple University

Research Interests

Her research explores the salience of race/ethnicity, gender, spirituality, and social context in identity formation and leadership development for marginalized communities.

HOW OUR STUDENTS & ALUMNI

EXPLORE, LEAD, & TRANSFORM

GREG

Courage to Reach

"Courage is the willingness to follow your beliefs and go where no one would expect you to go.” As an advisor to leaders of Fortune 500 companies, Greg has often offered honest counsel. He is aware of the risks of being brutally honest, yet he refuses to live and work in the spirit of fear. “God has given me experiences, education, and insights to help serve others, and that is what I strive to bring to my vocation every day."

CHERYL

Courage to Share

Learning always excited Cheryl. She wanted to become a professor to share her love of learning, yet finances held her back from attending college after high school. As an adult, when she had an opportunity to begin undergraduate study, she seized it and continued on to a master’s and doctoral study. For Cheryl, leadership is about sharing and transforming through the exploration of new knowledge.

CHEN

Courage to Become

Chen is an iconoclast. She’s outspoken, energetic, and dedicated to a mission of challenging Chinese churches to be more kingdom-minded. Getting a PhD in Organizational Leadership is her launching point for becoming the leader she is meant to be. The path she walks is one of courage and commitment to a higher cause: bringing the world one step closer to God’s Kingdom.

MATT

Courage to Start

Matt had to tap into his courage as he decided to pursue a PhD while also raising a family and being a leader in business. He could have taken the secure route and stuck to the corporate ladder. Instead, he leaned into his dormant capabilities. Now he’s making decisions at work with greater confidence. Most importantly, he believes his decision to pursue a PhD will serve as an example to guide and inspire his children.

My journey has been significantly impacted by the education I gained at Eastern University.”

– JON PERI, PHD ‘17

SHARPENING YOUR LEADERSHIP

Our PhD faculty and students are practicing leaders from diverse professional, academic, and global contexts. Our community, rooted in Christianity, welcomes thinkers and practitioners from diverse faith backgrounds and engages leadership according to a framework of faith, reason, and justice.

As a member of a cohort filled with purposeful professionals and scholars, you will sharpen your pre-existing leadership skills and competence while expanding your capacity as a scholar, practitioner, and thought leader.

COURAGE TO LEAD

A little over twelve years ago, Jon Peri applied for a position at a local university—Vice President of Academic Affairs. He applied despite having a successful law career. He was searching for a career filled with meaningfulness, a way to live out Christ’s calling. In the search for meaning, Jon discovered leadership in higher education. As a man of faith, Jon knew that God calls us to challenges we believe ourselves unfit for, and to paths we never expect to walk. So, he applied. He did not get the job. Yet opportunity presented itself even in the face of defeat. The university's president recommended Jon to the role of executive assistant. In this time, Jon realized that God had called him to higher education. Becoming the president of a higher education institution became his goal. Getting a PhD, Jon recognized, would be instrumental in achieving it.

Jon’s decision to choose Eastern University ultimately came down to faith. Here, he knew he would be encouraged to live his Christian faith and prepare for his calling. Through prayer and support from his peers, Jon embraced the rigors of the program, while enjoying every minute of it. Studying organizational leadership improved his own abilities as a leader. More importantly, the dissertation process shed insight into the issues he’d contend with in higher education. After completing the PhD program, Jon found an opening for the position of President at Manor College. Unlike last time—a little over twelve years ago—he got the job. For two and a half years now, he has served as President of Manor College. The journey, Jon says, has been significantly impacted by the education he gained at Eastern University. Jon found his calling. Now he lives it, too.

FACULTY Spotlight

DR. FRANKLIN OIKELOME

Professor of Organizational Leadership

Coordinator of Business Management Concentration

Dr. Oikelome is the co-author of an innovative book on diversity, ethnicity, and migration that analyzes key themes of career and career structures at international, national, and local levels. He has been in his current position at Eastern University since 2011 and teaches leadership and management courses. During his doctoral studies, he received the Phelan Fellowship Award from the International Institute for Labor Studies in Geneva, Switzerland for his outstanding research on labor and social policies.

Education

B.S. in Psychology, University of Lagos

M.S. in Employment Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Ph.D. in Employment Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science

Research Interests

His research interests lie in the interconnecting fields of migration, equality, diversity, and employment.

WHAT OUR STUDENTS & ALUMNI DO PROFESSIONALLY

Pastor

Executive Church Administrator

Nonprofit Executive Director

Director of Student & Family Ministry

CMC Regional Director

Nonprofit Founder

Consultant

US Government Director

State Government Director

Fundraiser and Grant Writer

Director of Special Services

Nonprofit Foundation Director

Social Worker

Homeless Ministry Executive

Nonprofit Board Member

Active and Retired Military Personnel

Director of Business Development

Managing Partner

Network Relations Manager

VP of Global Procurement

President & IT Consultant

Business Owner

VP of Finance & Operations

VP of Human Resources

Director of Organizational Development

Founder & President

Manager of Training & Development

Director of Operations and Strategies

Coordinator of Family Relations

Consultant

CPA

Marketing Executive

Middle School Principal

K-12 Program Director

Special Education Administrator

Public School Superintendent

Director of Equity and Inclusion

Director of Technology

Director of Online Learning

Director of Strategic Planning

Director of Athletics

College Sport Coach

University program Director/Chair

Director of Education Foundation

College Professor

College Dean/Associate Dean

College President

College Vice Chancellor

A HIGHER CALLING

Our PhD students and graduates are engaged in transformative leadership. Some have created new organizations. Others have transformed their environments. Whether organizational or individual, the transformation they effect is rooted in their humble and purposeful responses to the higher calling of making a just world for all.

Being part of this transformative community will not only inspire you, but also give you practical tools to take with you on your transformational journey.

COURAGE TO TRANSFORM

The seed of David Brewer’s journey with Christ was planted when he was a young man in high school. Nurtured by Eastern University’s PhD in Organizational Leadership, that seed has grown into an international organization that helps communities in developing countries become selfsufficient through entrepreneurship. That organization is called SEED (Sustainable Empowerment through Economic Development), where David is the Manager of Network Relations. As the international livelihood ministry of the Free Methodist Church USA, SEED provides the start-up capital, infrastructure, and planning to empower people to achieve their business dreams. This is David’s passion. This is how he does God’s work. Getting there, however, took courage.

Prior to SEED, David had found success in the healthcare industry. He was in upper-management, responsible for

directing projects between different departments and bringing to life the goals of executives. Yet David felt God leading him in a different direction. He was then recommended for the directorship of SEED. He took a leap of faith and left his corporate career. David thanks Eastern University for preparing him to lead SEED. To this day, Eastern's values of faith, reason, and justice are imbued into the mindsets he employs as a leader. David believes three mindsets characterize his leadership: Other-centered—a leader cannot lead unless they know the people they must lead; Unfinished—a leader never takes the exact

same approach in a new setting; and Confident—a leader goes into the situation expecting the best of his people. David is confident that, no matter the challenges he faces, God is there to guide him to success. And, so far, he has no reason to think otherwise. Since planting that first seed of faith, since taking that courageous leap, David has watched SEED plant the seeds of transformation in over two dozen developing communities, and that number—David is happy to note—continues to grow.

WHERE OUR STUDENTS & ALUMNI COME FROM