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The Dissertation of the Year Award 

People in attendance at an awards ceremony applaud for awardees

About the Program 

The UOPX Dissertation of the Year (DOY) Award has been developed to recognize excellence in dissertation work among our doctoral students.  Students from the University of Phoenix College of Doctoral Studies, who have successfully passed their dissertation defense are eligible for this yearly award. Awardees will be invited to present their research at the annual Knowledge Without Boundaries Research Summit, where they will also be recognized. Awardees will receive a certificate commemorating their hard work. 

Faculty are invited to nominate their doctoral students. Students may also nominate themselves with an endorsement letter from one of their committee members. Each student can be nominated only once.

Application: Nomination can be done by completing this form opens in new window. Note that the nominated student's dissertation and the faculty endorsement letter should be uploaded via the form. Please log in with the University of Phoenix student or faculty, not staff, credentials, to be able to access the form. 

For the 2027 DOY,  students who have successfully defended their dissertations between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027, may be nominated. 

Deadline: Applications are due by June 30, 2027.

If you have any questions, contact Dr. Mansureh Kebritchi at Mansureh.Kebritchi@phoenix.edu opens in new window

 

The Dissertation of the Year Winners 

We are excited to announce the winners of the UOPX Dissertation of the Year Award program. This program recognizes the outstanding dissertation work of our doctoral students. At the University of Phoenix, doctoral students who successfully defended their dissertations within the past year and were nominated for this award were eligible. Nominations underwent a rigorous double-blind peer review process, where each dissertation was evaluated by at least two experts in the field. In cases of a tied score, a third reviewer was brought in to ensure fairness in the evaluation. Thanks to this thorough process, we have identified the winners.

Congratulations to the DOY winners!

The DOY winner for Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)

Dissertation Title: Rebalancing employee monetary versus non-monetary compensation packages: a qualitative descriptive case study

  • Student: Dr. Paul David White III
  • Chair: Dr. Robert Krell; University Research Methodologist (URM): Julie Ballaro; Panel Validator (PV): Zalika Etienne

The DOY winner for Doctor of Management (DM)

Dissertation Title: Best practices and strategies of successful VA prosthetic leaders: a qualitative exploratory case study

  • Student: Dr. Sheila-Marie Mofield
  • Chair: Dr. Andrew Beran; University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Michelle Susberry Hill; Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Medgar Roberts

The DOY winner for the Doctor of Education (EdD) 

Dissertation Title: Self-care, stress, and burnout among Midwest middle school teachers: a qualitative narrative study

  • Student: Dr. Tamara Betz
  • Chair: Dr. Anthony Fitzpatrick; University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Sandra Sessoms-Penny; Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Roxanne Williams

The DOY winners for the Doctor of Health Administration (DHA)

Dissertation Title: Trait-emotional intelligence (TEI) and help-seeking of Jamaicans:  a quantitative correlational study

  • Student: Dr. Rosann Hamilton
  • Chair: Dr. Charles Elliott; University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Karen Johnson; Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Pamela Gordon

Doctor of Management and Doctor of Business Administration 

Dissertation: Differentiation and Performance of U.S. Casual Restaurant Brands through COVID-19: A Quantitative Correlational Study

  • Student: Dr. Monica Gaston
  • Chair: Dr. Alfreda Goods; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Maria Peoples, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Marlene Blake

Doctoral Degree in Education and PhD in Higher Education

Dissertation: Elementary teachers’ instructional challenges with real-life experiences: a qualitative explanatory case study

  • Student: Dr. Shaanii-Grace Robinson Ritzdorf  
  • Chair: Dr. Patricia Akojie; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Kevin Banning, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Zalika H. Etienne

Doctor of Health Administration 

Dissertation: Provider-patient engagement and patient-centered care: a correlational study

  • Student: Dr. Phuong Phan
  • Chair: Dr. Ela-Joy Lehrman; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Mar Navarro, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Liz Young

Dissertation: Unraveling the complexities of orthopedic injury recovery among unhoused men: a qualitative phenomenological study

  • Student: Dr. Michelle Burroughs
  • Chair: Dr. Kelly Gantt; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Raymond Delaney Jr., Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Zalika Etienne

Doctor of Management and Doctor of Business Administration 

Dissertation: Leadership Style of call-center Management post-covid-19: A Mixed Methods Descriptive Exploratory Case Study

  • Student: Dr. Mikel Yost
  • Chair: Dr. James Ziegler; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Julie Ballaro, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Stephen Notaro

Doctoral Degree in Education and PhD in Higher Education

Dissertation: Federal grant awards at Women’s and minority-serving institutions: A Causal Comparative Study

  • Student: Dr. Ramey Benfield - (Ph.D in Higher Education Administration)
  • Chair: Dr. Patricia Akojie; Committee members; University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Marie Peoples, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. Marcia Hill 

Doctor of Health Administration 

Dissertation: Can Training Reduce Emergency Department Nurse Burnout: A Qualitative Exploratory Case Study

  • Student: Dr. April LaFontaine
  • Chair: Dr. Charles Elliott; Committee members: University Research Methodologist (URM): Dr. Diane Gavin, Panel Validator (PV): Dr. James Lane

Doctor of Management and Doctor of Business Administration 

Dissertation: THE EXPERIENCES AND PERCEPTIONS OF CULTURAL BIAS IN MULTINATIONAL U.S. ORGANIZATIONS: AN EXPLANATORY CASE STUDY

  • Student: Dr. Daniel Collins 
  • Chair: Dr. Julie M. Ballaro; Committee members: Dr. Diane Gavin, Dr. Marcia Hill

 

Doctoral Degree in Education 

Dissertation: PERCEPTIONS OF TEST SCORE POLLUTION STEMMING FROM COVID-19 AND STATE TESTING: AN EXPLORATORY CASE STUDY

  • Student: Dr. Elif Kalemdaroglu Wheeler
  • Chair: Dr. Joshua Valk; Committee members; Dr. Maureen Marzano, Dr. Marcia Hill

 

Doctor of Health Administration 

Dissertation: CROSS-CONTAMINATION AND PERSONAL PROTECTIVE EQUIPMENT: A QUALITATIVE E-DELPHI DESIGN

  • Student: Dr. Eric Johansen  
  • Chair: Dr. Daniel Smith; Committee members: Dr. Julie M. Ballaro, Dr. Marlene Blake

Doctor of Management 

Dissertation:  COACHING-STYLE LEADERSHIP’S ROLE IN THE CHANGE MANAGEMENT PROCESS IN MECHANISTICALLY STRUCTURED ORGANIZATIONS:  A NARRATIVE INQUIRY STUDY

  • Student: Dr. Sai Raghav
  • Chair: John Sienrukos, Ph.D.;  Committee members: Mark McCaslin, Ph.D., Marcia Hill, Ph.D.

 

Doctoral Degree in Education  

Dissertation: EXPERIENCES MANAGING CHANGE IN POSTSECONDARY THEATRE ARTS CURRICULA: A NARRATIVE INQUIRY STUDY IN LEADERSHIP

  • Student: Dr. Lyn Shela Heck
  • Chair: Robert F Amason, JR, Ph.D.

 

 Doctor of Health Administration 

Dissertation: A QUALITATIVE MULTI-CASE STUDY OF NURSES’ PERCEPTIONS AND EXPERIENCES WITH POINT OF USE SUPPLY AUTOMATION

  • Student: Dr. Lee Ann Wright Smith
  • Chair: Cheryl Anderson, Ph.D.;  Committee members: Rebecca Back-Little, Ph.D., James Connelly, Ph.D.

 

Ph.D. Nursing

Dissertation: THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF NEW GRADUATE NURSES DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY

  • Student: Dr. Frank Druse
  • Chair: Anne Brett, Ph.D.;  Committee members: Susan Steele-Moses, DNS, Charlene Romer, Ph.D.

 

Doctor Degree in Education

Dissertation: INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND BLENDED LEARNING PEDAGOGY AMONG SECONDARY MATHEMATICS TEACHERS: A QUALITATIVE CASE STUDY

  • Graduated Student: Dr. Jenae Monique Whitfield
  • Chair: Patricia Akojie, Ph.D.;  Committee members: Jason Stroman, EdD; Donald Munday, EdD

 

Doctor of Health Administration

Dissertation: COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES: A MIXED METHODS STUDY

  • Graduated Student: Dr. Deborah Green-Gonzalez
  • Chair: Stephanie Holden, Ph.D.; Committee members:  Lionel de Souza, Ph.D.,  Louise Underdahl, Ph.D.

 

Doctor of Management 

Dissertation: PREDICTORS OF WILLINGNESS TOWARDS UNETHICAL BEHAVIOR IN FOLLOWERS OF CHARISMATIC / TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERS

  • Graduated Student: Dr. Wayne L McCoy
  • Chair: Dr. Herman van Niekirk, Ph.D.; Committee members: Dr. Diane Gavin; Dr. Amy Preiss