International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership 
2025 Edgar L. Morphet Dissertation of the Year

  • Dissertation Submission Deadlines and Contact Information
  • SUBMISSION DEADLINE: All submissions must be received by midnight (CST) on April 28th, 2025.
  • AWARD NOTIFICATION:  Award winner will be notified by May 31st SO THAT ARRANGEMENTS CAN BE MADE TO ATTEND THE 2025 CONFERENCE.
  •  The submission is to be electronically submitted to the current Morphet chair: Dr. J. Kenneth “Ken” Young at [email protected]. Receipt of application will be acknowledged by e-mail. Incomplete or inappropriate applications will be rejected according to ICPEL approved committee rules. Notification of rejection will be provided to the nominee.
About the Edgar L. Morphet Dissertation Award
The Edgar L. Morphet Fund Committee of the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership was established in recognition of Edgar L. Morphet’s lifetime career of distinguished contributions to the field of educational administration, and particularly his long and continued support of ICPEL.
 
The Edgar L. Morphet Dissertation Award(s) is given during the annual ICPEL conference to recognize scholarship in the dissertation stage of advanced academic work in the field of educational administration. The award is made for efforts at improving the knowledge base of our profession. Announcement of the award competition is made at the annual conference and through a general notification to members of the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership. Recent doctoral graduates are nominated by sponsoring ICPEL professors.
 
Abstracts of dissertations that meet the requirements and conditions outlined below, and whose authors have a career devoted to the field of education administration, are submitted anonymously to a panel of reviewers. Nominees should have been awarded the doctorate within two years of nomination deadline (i.e. January 1, 2023 – January 1, 2025).
 
A plaque, certificate, and monetary award are presented to the winner during the annual conference which the honoree must attend.  The winner is announced at a general session of the conference and is requested to present their dissertation during an open meeting, at which time the sponsoring professor is also recognized. The conference fee is waived for the winner. The individual is also recognized in the ICPEL Newsletter and the conference proceedings.
 
To be considered for an award, an applicant must submit the dissertation abstract and all requested information to the Chair of the Morphet Fund Committee on or before the date set by the Chair and be available to attend the ICPEL conference if named the recipient of the award. Mailing information and final dates for submission are provided by the Chair, through the Executive Director, in a cover note with the Notice/Application-Criteria/Abstract

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    Application Instructions
    ​The nomination/application includes two parts, which should be attached as two separate files and emailed to the committee chair by the due date. Appendix A provides a template for writing Part I and Appendix B provides a template for Part II. 
    Part I: Author Information (Name File: LastName_Part I;  see Part I Template for inclusion details) 
    • A brief vita including:
    • Present and previous positions, and education (next position if changing from the present).
    • University and school granting the doctorate to the applicant including date granted (or date certain to be
      granted)
    • Name, position, department, and university of the professor sponsoring the applicant, and new position, if
      changing
    • Title of Dissertation
    • An abstract summary of 150 words or less, summarizing study—for use in the conference program and proceedings, if selected. Also, if selected, winner will be asked to send a head & shoulders photo for the program (Do not send a photo with nomination).
    • Name, signature, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address of supervising advisor/nominator.
    • Signature of Nominee. ​
    Max file size: 20MB
    Part II: Dissertation Abstract (Name File: LastName_Part II; see Part II Template for inclusion details)
    The abstract should meet the following criteria:
    1. Any aspect of educational administration is appropriate:
      o Studies of administrative entities in educational institutions: schools, school districts, intermediate units, state agencies, colleges, universities, and other such units.
      o Studies of the role and function of the educational administrator at any level.
      o Studies of the history of educational administration or of the lives of major contributors to the field.
      o Comparative studies of educational administration with other fields of administration.
    2. A clearly stated conceptual/theoretical framework is used in the study. Research results are shown to have meaning for theory and practice in educational administration.
    3. Appropriate references to the relevant literature are made in the abstract and supported by references which were used in the abstract.
    4. The study includes a population of many cases, a few cases, or a single case. Regardless of population studied, the methodology reflects the most scholarly practice in research procedure for such a population.
    5. Correct use of the English language and of scholarly writing is exhibited, and the document follows a generally accepted research-reporting format, e.g. APA; Turabian (Chicago U.): MLA; or other. The chosen style is identified and exhibited in the abstract.
    6. The abstract is limited to 5-8 pages (12 pt Times New Roman and is double- spaced), with standard margins, plus appendices as necessary. Only include appendices necessary to support the abstract information. Appendices and reference list are not counted in the total page limit.
      Strict adherence to these criteria is mandatory for manuscript acceptance and award consideration. ​​
    Max file size: 20MB
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