2018 Clark Scholars Seminar
A Review of the 2018 David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in Educational Administration
by Margaret Thornton
UCEA Graduate Assistant
University of Virginia
This past April, 42 graduate students and 14 mentor faculty members descended upon the New York Hilton Midtown in New York, New York to participate in the 39th annual David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in Educational Administration. During the two-day seminar, which corresponded with the AERA Annual Meeting, Clark Scholars heard from an array of panelists about life as a faculty member, presented their research during poster sessions, and participated in small group discussions.
The small group sessions—the core of the Clark Seminar—organized students by dissertation topic and research methodology and paired a group of six students with two to three distinguished faculty members in educational leadership and policy. The faculty mentors, whom were selected by the Clark Seminar Planning Committee, read and commented upon executive summaries of students’ work before arriving in New York, and during the seminar, asked students to lead a conversation about their dissertations within their small groups. Faculty members then offered targeted feedback and invited other students to comment upon each student’s work. Clark Scholars’ research presentations ranged from studying the movement to opt out of standardized testing and an examination of the longitudinal effects of accountability policy on teacher turnover to exploring population change and principal leadership behaviors in rural public schools and examining the impact of race in the recruitment, placement, and retention of Black male principals.
To qualify for one of the seminar’s 42 slots, aspiring Clark Scholars were required to submit a brief summary of their dissertation research along with a letter of recommendation from a faculty member. This year, the seminar received over 80 applications, which were carefully evaluated by a committee of faculty members in educational leadership and policy. Mentor faculty members were selected by the Clark Seminar Planning Committee, which consists of one representative from AERA Division A, one representative from AERA Division L, the UCEA executive director, a UCEA graduate assistant, and the UCEA project and events coordinator.
This year’s Clark Scholars included Alison Wilson of the University of Oklahoma; Andrew Pendola of the Pennsylvania State University; Angel Miles Nash of the University of Virginia; Bryan A. VanGronigen of the University of Virginia; Bryan Duarte of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Chandler P. Miranda of New York University; Christian Toala of St. John’s University; Clare Buckley Flack of Teachers College, Columbia University; Emily Woods of the University of Massachusetts at Boston; Erika Cooper of the University of Georgia; Ethan O. Chang of the University of California, Santa Cruz; Garrick Grace of the University of Kentucky; Ian Christopher Kinkley of Michigan State University; J. Cameron Anglum of the University of Pennsylvania; James Coviello of the University of Texas at El Paso; Jason Cummins of Montana State University; Jeremy Brandon Turner of the University of Alabama; Johanna Hanley of the University of Georgia; Jonell Baskett of Illinois State University; Kathryn Chapman of Arizona State University; Kendrick Alston of North Carolina State University; Kenneth E. Graves of Teachers College, Columbia University; Laura Browning of the University of Missouri, Laura Tobben of the University of California, Berkeley; Lena Batt of the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Liliana E. Castrellón of the University of Utah; Lindsey Burke of George Mason University; Maraki Kebede of the Pennsylvania State University; Melanie Stefanovic of Florida Atlantic University; Meredith Wronowski of the University of Oklahoma; Michael Harris Little of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Minor Baker of Texas State University; Paul Bruno of the University of Southern California; Rebecca Carol Merrill of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Richard Morel of Northwestern University; Richard Pelton of Texas State University; Ruben Carrillo of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Sarah Argue of the University of Central Arkansas; Scott Hurwitz of the University of Connecticut; Susan Bush-Mecenas of the University of Southern California; Susan Kemper Patrick of Vanderbilt University; and Tamilah Richardson of the George Washington University.
This year’s Clark Seminar faculty mentors included Alex Bowers of Teachers College, Columbia University; Betty Malen of the University of Maryland; Colleen Larson of New York University; Ellen Goldring of Vanderbilt; George Farkas of the University of California, Irvine; Hollie Mackey of the University of Oklahoma; Juan Niño of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Kimberley Hewitt of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Monica Byrne-Jimenez of Indiana University; Muhammad Khalifa of the University of Minnesota; Noelle Witherspoon Arnold of the Ohio State University; Sara Dexter of the University of Virginia; Susan Faircloth of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; and Rick Ginsberg of the University of Kansas.
The seminar is held each year before the start of the AERA Annual Meeting and is coordinated by AERA Division A, AERA Division L, and the University Council for Educational Administration. Named in honor of the late Professor David L. Clark, the seminar seeks to bring together emerging scholars and accomplished faculty members to better hone research projects and prepare the future of the educational leadership and policy professoriate. The Call for Nominations for the 2019 Clark Seminar—which will take place Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4 in Toronto—will be released in early September 2018.
For more information about the Clark Seminar and how to apply to become a Clark Scholar, visit: http://clarkseminar.ucea.org. Faculty members interested in being considered for one of the 12 mentor faculty slots should email Margaret Thornton at met6d@virginia.edu.
by Margaret Thornton
UCEA Graduate Assistant
University of Virginia
This past April, 42 graduate students and 14 mentor faculty members descended upon the New York Hilton Midtown in New York, New York to participate in the 39th annual David L. Clark National Graduate Student Research Seminar in Educational Administration. During the two-day seminar, which corresponded with the AERA Annual Meeting, Clark Scholars heard from an array of panelists about life as a faculty member, presented their research during poster sessions, and participated in small group discussions.
The small group sessions—the core of the Clark Seminar—organized students by dissertation topic and research methodology and paired a group of six students with two to three distinguished faculty members in educational leadership and policy. The faculty mentors, whom were selected by the Clark Seminar Planning Committee, read and commented upon executive summaries of students’ work before arriving in New York, and during the seminar, asked students to lead a conversation about their dissertations within their small groups. Faculty members then offered targeted feedback and invited other students to comment upon each student’s work. Clark Scholars’ research presentations ranged from studying the movement to opt out of standardized testing and an examination of the longitudinal effects of accountability policy on teacher turnover to exploring population change and principal leadership behaviors in rural public schools and examining the impact of race in the recruitment, placement, and retention of Black male principals.
To qualify for one of the seminar’s 42 slots, aspiring Clark Scholars were required to submit a brief summary of their dissertation research along with a letter of recommendation from a faculty member. This year, the seminar received over 80 applications, which were carefully evaluated by a committee of faculty members in educational leadership and policy. Mentor faculty members were selected by the Clark Seminar Planning Committee, which consists of one representative from AERA Division A, one representative from AERA Division L, the UCEA executive director, a UCEA graduate assistant, and the UCEA project and events coordinator.
This year’s Clark Scholars included Alison Wilson of the University of Oklahoma; Andrew Pendola of the Pennsylvania State University; Angel Miles Nash of the University of Virginia; Bryan A. VanGronigen of the University of Virginia; Bryan Duarte of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Chandler P. Miranda of New York University; Christian Toala of St. John’s University; Clare Buckley Flack of Teachers College, Columbia University; Emily Woods of the University of Massachusetts at Boston; Erika Cooper of the University of Georgia; Ethan O. Chang of the University of California, Santa Cruz; Garrick Grace of the University of Kentucky; Ian Christopher Kinkley of Michigan State University; J. Cameron Anglum of the University of Pennsylvania; James Coviello of the University of Texas at El Paso; Jason Cummins of Montana State University; Jeremy Brandon Turner of the University of Alabama; Johanna Hanley of the University of Georgia; Jonell Baskett of Illinois State University; Kathryn Chapman of Arizona State University; Kendrick Alston of North Carolina State University; Kenneth E. Graves of Teachers College, Columbia University; Laura Browning of the University of Missouri, Laura Tobben of the University of California, Berkeley; Lena Batt of the University of Wisconsin–Madison; Liliana E. Castrellón of the University of Utah; Lindsey Burke of George Mason University; Maraki Kebede of the Pennsylvania State University; Melanie Stefanovic of Florida Atlantic University; Meredith Wronowski of the University of Oklahoma; Michael Harris Little of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Minor Baker of Texas State University; Paul Bruno of the University of Southern California; Rebecca Carol Merrill of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Richard Morel of Northwestern University; Richard Pelton of Texas State University; Ruben Carrillo of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Sarah Argue of the University of Central Arkansas; Scott Hurwitz of the University of Connecticut; Susan Bush-Mecenas of the University of Southern California; Susan Kemper Patrick of Vanderbilt University; and Tamilah Richardson of the George Washington University.
This year’s Clark Seminar faculty mentors included Alex Bowers of Teachers College, Columbia University; Betty Malen of the University of Maryland; Colleen Larson of New York University; Ellen Goldring of Vanderbilt; George Farkas of the University of California, Irvine; Hollie Mackey of the University of Oklahoma; Juan Niño of the University of Texas at San Antonio; Kimberley Hewitt of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro; Monica Byrne-Jimenez of Indiana University; Muhammad Khalifa of the University of Minnesota; Noelle Witherspoon Arnold of the Ohio State University; Sara Dexter of the University of Virginia; Susan Faircloth of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington; and Rick Ginsberg of the University of Kansas.
The seminar is held each year before the start of the AERA Annual Meeting and is coordinated by AERA Division A, AERA Division L, and the University Council for Educational Administration. Named in honor of the late Professor David L. Clark, the seminar seeks to bring together emerging scholars and accomplished faculty members to better hone research projects and prepare the future of the educational leadership and policy professoriate. The Call for Nominations for the 2019 Clark Seminar—which will take place Wednesday, April 3 and Thursday, April 4 in Toronto—will be released in early September 2018.
For more information about the Clark Seminar and how to apply to become a Clark Scholar, visit: http://clarkseminar.ucea.org. Faculty members interested in being considered for one of the 12 mentor faculty slots should email Margaret Thornton at met6d@virginia.edu.