Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Higher Education Administration

This study examined the experiences, challenges, and transitions of eight college and university presidents who were the first women senior executives at their respective institutions. A qualitative research method, following the principles of the constructivist paradigm, was used as the underlying framework. Two in-depth sequential interviews were conducted with each president. Case studies were created for each participant and were aggregated to form the basis for these results. Most of the participants in this study did not plan to become presidents. Usually the role emerged as a possibility later in their careers, while priorities—such as being with their families, remaining professionally challenged, and serving others—shaped their career directions. Although cognizant of gender, most did not believe that it significantly impacted their presidencies; yet because in each case, a woman, instead of a man, was appointed for the first time, several changes and adjustments occurred. In their view, the influence of gender was essentially peripheral, meaning that it affected major operations and concerns less than smaller matters located on the edge of their agendas. The professional demands of the presidency inevitably affected their personal lives, and finding a balance between professional and personal responsibilities often proved challenging. Several factors, such as individual management strategies or the kinds of external services employed, impacted the personal demands placed on them. The greatest challenges frequently related to the state of the institution when they assumed the office, addressing various leadership issues, and resolving intrapersonal issues. The participants recommended that presidential candidates be articulate and adept regarding financial and philanthropic issues, acquire a broad understanding of higher education, prepare for the magnitude of the position, and gain various leadership skills. More attention needs to be paid to the mentoring (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: C. Carney Strange (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Higher

BA, Oberlin College, 1978, History

Oberlin College is frequently mentioned in connection with women's education, women's rights, or the struggle for women's emancipation. The following passage from the 1834 First Circular is invariably cited: Oberlin's founders strove for"… the elevation of female character, by bringing within the reach of the misjudged and neglected sex, all the instructive privileges which hitherto have unreasonably distinguished the leading sex from theirs." Discussions seek to prove either that Oberlin is to be praised for its correct and "liberated" goals, or that it is to be condemned for hypocrisy in not going as far as publicized in the First Circular. A brief survey of the literature concerning women at Oberlin clarifies what is lacking in the analysis. One strand of thought applauds the coming of coeducation for opening up new paths for American women. James Fairchild, at various times student, teacher, and president of Oberlin College, found himself the defender of Oberlin's experiment, and of coeducation in general. Twenty years after criticizing women who spoke in public, he became the spokesman for coeducation, on the grounds that it worked."

Committee: Barbara Steinson (Advisor) Subjects: American History; Higher Education; Religion, History of

Master of Arts, The Ohio State University, 1969, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects:

PHD, Kent State University, 2023, College of Education, Health and Human Services / School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration

Utilizing Iloh's Model of College Going Decisions and Trajectories (Iloh, 2018) and guided by the three-dimensional narrative inquiry framework, this study explored how Black women recounted their decisions to attend for-profit higher education institutions for graduate education. The researcher interviewed eight participants for this study. The researcher found eight themes across participant narratives: (1) recounting the need for flexibility, convenience, and acceleration, (2) recounting researching institutions and programs, (3) recounting academic program decisions, (4) recounting the impact of accreditations, licensure, and credentialing, (5) recounting making comparisons, (6) recounting the impact of for-profit status, (7) the impacts of caregiving, loss, and faith, and (8) the role of the Black woman identity in decision-making. To increase the access and success of Black women in graduate programs, the researcher recommends reflective and inclusive advertising, the legitimization of for-profit institutions through federal legislation, the addressing or Black graduate women's needs at not-for-profit institutions, graduate program exploration assistance, and the inclusion of tax status policy statements for all higher education institutions. Further inquiry is needed to explore the role of anonymity in college-going decision-making, the impact of loss and faith in college-going decisions and trajectories, and Black graduate women's success after enrolling in for-profit institutions. These findings are valuable for Black graduate women, legislators, and higher education administrators concerned with access and success of Black graduate women.

Committee: Tara Hudson (Committee Chair); Shamuire Spivey (Committee Member); Christa Porter (Committee Member) Subjects: Adult Education; African Americans; Education; Gender; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration

Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, 1950, Human Movement, Sport and Leisure Studies

Committee: Samuel M. Cooper (Advisor) Subjects: Physical Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2021, Higher Education Administration

For prospective college student-athletes, college selection is a multifaceted process that often involves athletic recruitment and is different from a traditional student exploring college options. The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the recruitment experiences of women participating in intercollegiate athletics and the factors that were most influential to their college choice. This study used Perna's (2006) Proposed Model of College Choice and Magnusen et al.'s (2014) Social Influence Model of College Choice as theoretical frameworks to understand the essence of women student-athletes' lived experiences related to recruitment and college choice. Ten women student-athletes who were 18 years or older and played Division I field hockey or volleyball at NCAA member institutions participated in the study. Each participant engaged in two, 60-90-minute semi-structured interview sessions. Following interviews, data were transcribed and verified by participants for accuracy before being coded to identify themes. The findings from this research show that coaches and parents serve in the capacity of influential agents, resources, and/or supports to women student-athletes throughout the recruitment process. Results also showed that academics and team culture were highly valued institutional factors that dictated the college decisions of women student-athletes. Moreover, there are factors that are internal and external to the institution that are most salient to women student-athletes' college choice.

Committee: Amanda Paule-Koba Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Christina Lunceford Ph.D. (Committee Co-Chair); Maureen Wilson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Michael Zickar Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Adult Education; Gender; Higher Education; Higher Education Administration; Sports Management; Womens Studies

MA, University of Cincinnati, 2019, Arts and Sciences: Sociology

This study investigates the impact of the South Asian diaspora on identity formation for Generation Z women. While much of the extant literature focuses on the experiences of second- generation Generation Y individuals, I investigate how Generation Z college women make meaning of the role of education in their lives. This research considers how the role of education and cultural expectations shape identity negotiation of children of immigrants during their time in college. The participants constitute a range of immigrant generations—between 1.5- and third- generation—South Asian Americans within the United States. While there is research on the impact of the "model minority” designation among this group, there exists a gap in the literature pertaining to the intersection of identity and experience. Using data from 15 qualitative interviews with participants, I share analyses around participants' personal focus on education throughout their lives, the importance of parental influence as it relates to their education, and their perceptions of independence that they gain as a result of education. These findings bridge a gap in the literature on how South Asian women use their time in college to explore the meaning of education and how these reflections enable them to negotiate their identity.

Committee: Derrick Brooms Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Earl Wright II Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Sociology

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2017, Leadership and Change

Given the scope and paucity of knowledge about the lived experiences of the female adult student entering or re-entering college later in life to degree completion, this research study identified significant themes in their lived experiences. With an appreciative eye, this study captured the female adult students' lived experiences conveyed in a rich, inter-connected, and inspiring picture of who they are embedded into the larger context of society; such as role identity theory, social identity theory and the applicability and interpretations of these two theories on their journey to degree completion. This study also portrayed selected aspects of the feminist movement in the context of women's access to higher education with reference to contemporary feminist views relevant to the female adult student entering or reentering college later in life to degree completion. The central question in this study: What was it like to be on a journey as a female adult student who enters, or re-enters, college later in life to degree completion? In order to inquire into the journey, or phenomenon, a qualitative methodology with a phenomenological design was used that allowed the participants to describe their lived experiences and how they made meaning of the journey to degree completion. Through a three-phased approach nine emergent themes and multiple sub-themes emerged that identified the journey and lived experiences of this group of female adult students to degree completion. This research study makes a unique contribution to the study of the marginalized group of females by not just identifying obstacles and challenges, but imparting in the participant's own words how they overcame both internal and external influences that may have dissuaded other adult females from continuing to degree completion. By identifying the significant themes, it brought to the forefront the importance of raising awareness of the lived experiences of this marginalized group of fem (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Lize A.E. Booysen DBL (Committee Chair); Philomena Essed PhD (Committee Member); Linda Ellington EdD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Gender Studies; Higher Education; Womens Studies

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1981, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1980, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1977, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Doctor of Philosophy, The Ohio State University, 1970, Graduate School

Committee: Not Provided (Other) Subjects: Education

Master of Arts in Education, University of Akron, 2014, Educational Foundations-Social/Philosophical Foundations of Education

This study was conducted at a public university located in the geographical center of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The study included two research questions designed to explore the relationship between gender, high school performance and college major selection among students in the KSA. The first research question examined the relationship between student gender and choice of college major among college students in the KSA. The second research question examined the relationship between high school performance and college major based on student gender. This study had three major findings. It found a significant relationship between student gender and choice of college major. It also found a major achievement gap in the measurement of student high school performance. The gap existed between the two standardized measures, GAT and SAAT, and the non-standardized measure, high school GPA. Finally, results of the study showed that the difference in high school academic performance of students in each of the four-college majors mathematics, chemistry, physics, and natural sciences was significantly related to the students’ gender. This finding was true only for two of the three measures of the high school academic performance: high school GPA and SAAT. The findings of this study suggest that high school students, particularly female students, should be offered free educational courses and seminars specifically designed to enhance the students’ knowledge and teach students how to achieve well on the GAT and SAAT. The results also suggest that high school students should be informed of the importance and power of high school performance. Educators, researchers and policy makers should know that high school performance is strongly tied to both the selection of college major and college performance.

Committee: Suzanne MacDonald Dr (Advisor); Xin Liang Dr. (Committee Member); Huey-li Li Dr. (Committee Member) Subjects: Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy, Miami University, 2009, English: Composition and Rhetoric

This dissertation analyzes the American Delsarte movement—a largely white, upper- and middle-class women's performance phenomenon from the 1880s to 1905—as well as Delsartists' work in creating what they called the “New Elocution.” Scholars of rhetorical history such as Nan Johnson and Robert Connors have touched on the Delsartists in their research and have begun the work of analyzing women's participation in the American elocutionary movement; nevertheless, extensive turf remains wholly unexplored concerning women's study of oratory in this era, in particular, considering why these women thought it the most vital discipline to study. My research therefore consists largely of a recovery project, bringing archival evidence to light and arguing that in the midst of what elocutionists called this “oratorical Renaissance,” American women were flocking in surprisingly large numbers to the study of expression and elocution—not as a “social grace,” as Leila McKee, one President of a woman's college of oratory put it in 1898, but as a means of “social power.” Turn-of-the-century women believed that this power was theirs for the taking if they knew how to speak with more eloquence and confidence in public; this motive has been overlooked, I argue, as has the means by which women meant to procure oratorical ability—by the study and practice of what I term “rhetorical performance.” This dissertation defines and analyzes the concept of rhetorical performance as it occurred within three different Delsarte-influenced sites: competition in oratorical contests, the demonstration of elocutionary skill via public recitals, and finally the use of rhetorical drama to advance arguments regarding women's rights.

Committee: Dr. Cindy Lewiecki-Wilson PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Dr. Katharine Ronald PhD (Committee Co-Chair); Dr. Katie Johnson PhD (Committee Member); Dr. Charlotte Newman Goldy PhD (Advisor) Subjects: Education History; Rhetoric; Womens Studies

Master of Music (MM), Bowling Green State University, 2011, Music Education/Comprehensive Music Education

The lack of women band directors, especially at the high school and collegiate levels, is an area of concern for music educators. Previous research has identified balancing career and family responsibilities as a challenge for professional women, and a possible factor in the inequality of men and women in the band directing profession. The purpose of the study was to investigate strategies used by women high school band directors to meet the challenge of balancing career and family. College band directors in Michigan and Ohio nominated women high school band directors based on the following criteria, (a) female, (b) current or former high school band director in Michigan or Ohio, (c) married or divorced, and/or caregiver of a child during the period of employment as a high school band director. Semi-structured, open-ended live interviews were conducted with four women exhibiting a range of experiences with balancing a career as a high school band director and family responsibilities. Interviews were recorded and subsequently transcribed. The analysis initially focused on issues presented in previous research, such as spousal support, childcare methods, time management, and family and career planning and was further guided by the interview of each subject allowing the researcher to identify challenges and strategies related to balancing a career as a band director and family responsibilities. Analysis and coding of data within and across cases revealed challenges and strategies commonly related to a theme of time. Participants reported challenges and strategies related to the time requirements of the high school band director position and parenting. Numerous afterschool and weekend commitments contributed to participants' emotional distress and guilt from being separated from their children, maintaining personal relationships, and difficulty staying healthy. Strategies used by participants to cope with their time commitments included: relying on their spouses (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Elizabeth A. Menard PhD (Advisor); Vincent J. Kantorski PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Gender Studies; Music; Music Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2010, Higher Education Administration

This qualitative study used narrative data to explore and understand eight Native Hawaiian college women's conceptions of identity. The utilization of personal storytelling and narrative provided opportunities for deeper exploration and understandings of Hawaiian identity. In addition, the use of Tribal Critical Race Theory (TribalCrit), identity performance constructs, and intersectionality research helped framed the study and provided lenses that acknowledged the impact colonization, societal expectations, and performance of self had on identity construction and understanding. The findings revealed that although all of the women acknowledged the importance of different facets of their identities, their Hawaiian cultural identities were the most significant for each of them. In-depth interviews enabled exploration of their definitions and conceptions of Hawaiian identity. Participants reflected on their experiences involving identity performance, cultural competency, and validation and described ways in which facets of their identities intersected to create unique lived experiences. In addition, participants reflected on their university experiences and discussed how the college experience shaped their understandings of identity.

Committee: Maureen Wilson PhD (Committee Chair); Vikki Krane PhD (Committee Member); Patricia Kubow PhD (Committee Member); Dafina Stewart PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Education; Educational Psychology; Higher Education

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2009, Higher Education Administration

Dr. Melvene Draheim Hardee, a higher education administrator, scholar, and leader spent her weekends tending to a 900‐acre Georgia pine tree farm. Born in Clarion, Iowa in 1913, she earned degrees at Iowa State Teachers College, Teachers College Columbia University, and the University of Chicago. The majority of her professional career played out at Florida State University where she first served as coordinator of counseling and later joined Dr. Hugh Stickler and Dr. Raymond Schultz as one of the original faculty members of the FSU higher education graduate preparation program. Between 1958 and 1989, she advised 120 doctoral students to the successful completion of their degrees and she advised and mentored many more master's degree students. Hardee assumed leadership positions in several higher education professional organizations. This study sought to determine her contributions to the student affairs profession's philosophical and practical development especially in light of her time in history, a time when women were underrepresented in leadership roles.Archival evidence was gleaned from two collections, the Melvene Draheim Hardee Papers housed in the National Student Affairs Archives located at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, and The Melvene Draheim Hardee Center for Women in Higher Education Collection housed by Florida State University Libraries. This information was analyzed along with data derived from interviews with 16 former students and professional colleagues and one family member. The resulting chapters include an overview of Dr. Hardee's life, an analysis of her writings for publication, speeches, and presentations, and a compendium of recollections from people who knew her from a variety of perspectives. Hardee contributed to the early development of faculty advising constructs, the development of an association for Southern student personnel professionals, and the Joint Statement on Student Rights and Freedoms. During her presidential term (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Michael Coomes Ed.D. (Committee Chair); Michael J. Zickar Ph.D. (Committee Member); Maureen E. Wilson Ph.D. (Committee Member); Dafina L. Stewart Ph.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Academic Guidance Counseling; Education; Education History; Teaching; Womens Studies

Ph.D., Antioch University, 2008, Leadership and Change

The purpose of this research study was to explore the concept of leadership self-identity in a particular population of formal leaders—women college presidents. Using narrative inquiry, the research examined the following: how these women describe and define themselves as leaders, what personal attributes they believe allow them to be leaders, their past and future career intentions, how their relationships with others influence their leadership self-identity, and the stories they tell about themselves and leadership. Participants were asked questions designed to reflect their core identity and personal narrative, and to describe their career and relationships. Common themes that emerge include: how they work with others, themselves as leaders, professional intentions and planning, presidential longevity, mentors and mentoring, their networks of support and the importance of communication and language. A clear picture of the leadership self-identity of this group of women college presidents emerges from the study and their understanding of themselves as leaders reveals the complexity of leadership. Leadership self-identity develops as a holistic concept that integrates five critical components: authenticity, leading through relationships, composing a life, balance, and learning. Only the self-understanding inherent in character and authenticity can enable a potential leader to integrate the components of leadership self-identity. As such, it presents significant implications for how leaders are identified, selected, educated, and trained. The electronic version of this dissertation is at OhioLink ETD Center, www.ohiolink.edu/etd.

Committee: Alan E. Guskin PhD (Committee Chair); Laurien Alexandre PhD (Committee Member); Sumru Erkut PhD (Committee Member); Sandra Cheldelin PhD (Other) Subjects: Higher Education; Womens Studies