Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership

The Alice P. Naylor Outstanding Dissertation Award was established in 2009 by former doctoral program director, Dr. Jim Killacky to honor the legacy of Professor Emerita Dr. Alice Naylor. Dr. Naylor retired in 2008 after 33 years as a faculty member in the Reich College of Education. Dr. Naylor served as a Director of AppState’s Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership. The Naylor award was created to honor the quality of research and scholarship in the program. 

Dissertation committee chairs can nominate students each academic year. The nominations are reviewed by a faculty committee based on established criteria. The award recognizes a doctoral graduate who, through their dissertation work:

-- Advances knowledge in the field of educational leadership, broadly defined;

-- Integrates intellectual traditions, theoretical frameworks, and research findings;

-- Makes innovative use of methods, extending the approaches available for conducting research;

-- Impacts educational practice, or develops theory or perspective that impacts practice, especially for underserved and marginalized communities.

The 2025 Naylor winner will be announcement at this year's Doctoral Symposium held on November 7, 2025.

The 2024 Naylor winners will be announcement at this year's Doctoral Symposium held on November 7-8, 2024.