Doctoral Student Consortium
Professional Development Workshop
Date: Wednesday 28 October
Time: 9:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Cost: $45 – ILA Student Member; $75 – All Others
Location: The Westin Harbour Castle, Toronto, Room TBD
Ticket prices do not include food or beverage. We suggest bringing along your favorite beverage and snack to keep you energized throughout the workshop!
Description
The 2026 ILA conference marks the 10th year of the popular Doctoral Consortium Program. This informative program is for doctoral students at any stage of their process. Spend the day with us learning from doctoral faculty, dissertation advisers, writers, researchers, and other students to strengthen your dissertation journey
In understanding that the study of leadership is multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary, students studying leadership from any discipline are welcome to attend and add to the conversations!
The purpose of the doctoral consortium is to create a forum for students to learn together and create a community of future scholars. We will create a space to gather, form a sense of community, get feedback on research agendas, and advance their careers by learning from one another. A cadre of established scholars, dissertation chairs, and practitioners in the field has been assembled to help guide the conversation and contribute ideas and support.
The sessions throughout the day will include discussions with faculty on tips for successful doctoral students, goal setting, and digging into the dissertation process. This year’s consortium is focused on helping the doctoral student focus on their process and see how their development contributes to the final dissertation product. We will discuss voice, methods, and the importance of finding your voice in the research. The day will be spent with faculty members who are scholarly, developmental, authors, with a student focused approach. Your informal conversations with the faculty and your student colleagues will round out the learning focused presentations.
Agenda Overview
9 – 9:15 Welcome, Introductions, & Overview of consortium
Dr. Rich Whitney, Professor, Organizational Leadership
Org Leadership Doc Program, University of La. Verne
9:15 – 10:00 Tips for Success as a Doctoral Student
Dr. Kathy Guthrie, Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Florida State University.
This section will focus on practical strategies and tips for a successful doctoral experience. Working with your chair/adviser is a key part of the doctoral experience and especially the dissertation process. Strategies include having the right mindset, keys to good writing, and leveraging your dissertation for life beyond graduate school.
10:05 – 10:50 Theoretical Concept and Conceptual Framework
Dr. Rich Whitney, Professor, Organizational Leadership
Org Leadership Doc Program, University of La. Verne
This aspect of the doctoral dissertation is as important as the research question. The conceptual framework provides a lens and structure for the overall project, the literature review, and your methods.
10:55 – 11:40 Which comes first the Research Question or the method
Dr. L. J. McElravy, Associate Professor, Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Students will explore the process of developing research questions and choosing research methodology. We will discuss the interplay between these elements of a dissertation along with the likely bounding parameters for your research.
11:40 – 12:10 Quick lunch break. (Bring Snacks)
12:10 – 12:55 Goal Strategies: Getting from Doc Student to Doctor
Dr. Kim La Comba, Assoc Professor, Director
Ph.D. in Global Leadership Program, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College
This section will help guide you through your own personal goals for completing a dissertation. Students will learn how to engage their own best styles to tackle the big task of researching and writing a dissertation. Some tools will be introduced to help with backdating and mini markers of success toward completion.
1:00 – 1:45 Science of Writing: Strategies and Formulas for Managing Your Writing
Facilitator Forthcoming
Want to get that thesis, dissertation, or research paper done…and done well? This section will cover methodical approaches to getting motivated to write, staying on track with a realistic timeline, avoiding writing burnout or writing in spurts, overcoming writer’s block, and writing resources that every student should know about
1:45 – 2:00 Wrap Up and conclusions
Dr. Rich Whitney
Hear From Past Attendees
“Best day of the Conference. Thank you.”
“Ideas and suggestions that I could incorporate immediately to better inform my work as a new researcher and writer.”
“As I begin to transition from coursework to the research process, I know that the notes I took will help me be more productive.”
Goals & Outcomes
By attending the ILA Doctoral Consortium, participant(s) will:
- Make connections, network, with other doctoral students looking at a leadership focused dissertation for support, ideas, common interests, and community.
- Meet with scholars and practitioners who are advising doctoral students and publishing their own scholarship in leadership outlets.
- Get feedback on their research agendas, dissertation goals, and methods of inquiry.
- Advance their careers by learning from one another and from established scholars and practitioners in the field.
Hosted by ILA's Leadership Scholarship Member Community
The ILA Leadership Scholarship Member Community brings together seasoned and new scholars and researchers sharing an emphasis on leadership from all disciplines, fields of study and research approaches. The Leadership Scholarship Community creates opportunities to share research and theories, encourages rigor and relevance, and fosters collaboration.
Doc Consortium Chair and primary contact is Dr. Rich Whitney, rwhitney@laverne.edu.
Past facilitators include: Nathan Eva (Monash Business School); L.J. McElravy (University of Nebraska-Lincoln); Darren Pierre (University of Maryland), Corey Seemiller (Wright State University), Kathy Guthrie (Florida State University), Ron Riggio (Claremont McKenna College), Yulia Tolstikov-Mast (Indiana Tech), among many others.
Facilitators
Dr. Kathy L. Guthrie is a Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Florida State University, where she also serves as Director of the Leadership Learning Research Center and coordinates the Undergraduate Certificate in Leadership Studies. Her research focuses on leadership learning in higher education, with particular attention to culturally relevant and socially just leadership education, learning environments and outcomes, and professional development for student affairs professionals.
Dr. Guthrie has authored or co-authored more than 100 publications, including refereed journal articles, books, and book chapters, and has co-edited multiple books and special journal issues on leadership learning. She teaches and conducts research internationally, serves on the board of the International Leadership Association, and is an affiliated researcher with the Center for Arts, Business, and Culture at the Stockholm School of Economics.
At Florida State University, she teaches graduate courses in higher education and undergraduate courses in leadership studies. Her work has been recognized with numerous awards, including ACPA Diamond Honoree, NASPA’s Robert H. Shaffer Award for Academic Excellence, and multiple teaching and scholarly honors. Dr. Guthrie is editor of the New Directions in Student Leadership series and the Contemporary Perspectives in Leadership Learning book series, and earned her PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign.
Kimberly LaComba, Ph.D. is the Director of the Ph.D. in Global Leadership program and Associate Professor of Leadership at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. An award-winning educator, curator of experiential learning, and international speaker, Dr. LaComba is the PK Deputy Endowed Professor at SMWC where she is leading a research project focused on world demographics. Her additional research interests include responsible global leadership positive change projects within communities, best practices in leadership program development, future ready global leader’s initiatives, and open access curriculum development. She earned her Ph.D. in Global Leadership from Indiana Institute of Technology and her MS in Human Resources for Higher Education and Industry, certificate in Public Administration, and a BS in Business Administration from Indiana State University.
Dr. L.J. McElravy is an Associate Professor of Leadership in the Department of Agricultural Leadership, Education and Communication. His research and extension efforts focus on leadership development across the lifespan, investigating how leadership is a developmental process that profoundly impacts the success of teams, organizations, and communities. This foundational belief was shaped by his four years of service in the U.S. Army. Additionally, Dr. McElravy is recognized for his contributions to graduate education, having worked to improve graduate leadership curriculum and previously serving as the Associate Dean of Professional Development for the Office of Graduate Studies at UNL.
Rich Whitney, Professor, Organizational Leadership & Program Chair Organizational Leadership & Educational Leaders, University of La Verne
LEADERSHIP PROFESSOR with strengths in personal leadership, leadership development, training, speaking, program development, and student development. Excellent teaching and facilitation abilities with focus on the student through adult learning principles and experiential learning approaches.
A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER who seeks to create a dynamic culture of growth and support for all members of the organization and a student-centered professional. Recognized by students, colleagues, peers, direct reports, and supervisors as energetic, highly relational, collaborative, and outcomes focused.
Specialties: Generating partnerships and community building, designing curriculum and programs, implementing brain-based leadership strategies and educational initiatives, and strategic planning.
Excels at facilitating systematic progress according to strategic organizational vision.
EMERGENETICS CERTIFIED ASSOCIATE – presenting and facilitating workshops and groups through thinking and behavior awareness. This approach shows the power of full brain thinking, collaboration, communication, and accountability for better programs and projects.