04/15/2021
By Robin Hall

The College of Education invites you to attend a doctoral dissertation defense by Cristina Haverty on “The Influence of Leadership on Faculty Morale and Intent to Leave During Hard Times.”

Date: Monday, April 26, 2021
Time: 3 p.m. EST
Location: This will be a virtual defense via Zoom. Those interested in attending should email Jack_Schneider@uml.edu at least 24 hours prior to the defense to request access to the meeting.

Dissertation Chair: Jack Schneider, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Dissertation Committee:

  • A.J. Angulo, Ed.D., Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell
  • Stacy Szczesiul, Ed.D., Associate Professor, College of Education, University of Massachusetts Lowell

Abstract:
This dissertation investigates the influence of leadership on faculty morale and intent to leave at small private colleges in Massachusetts experiencing hard times. An examination of the topic occurs through two distinct, but related, studies with the findings represented in three separate thematically connected papers.

The first paper, entitled, “The Faculty Voice: Factors that Affect Faculty Morale at a small private college”, is a qualitative exploratory study that analyzed open-ended focus group questions to answer the research question, “what factors shape faculty morale at a small private 4-year non-profit institution of higher education in Massachusetts?”

The second paper, entitled, “The Influence of Leadership on Faculty Morale During Hard Times”, is a mixed-methods study that used survey and interview data to answer the research question, “how does leadership influence faculty morale at small private 4-year non- profit institution of higher education in Massachusetts?”.

The third paper, entitled, “The Influence of Leadership on Faculty Morale and Intent to Leave During Hard Times, used the same methodology to analyze data collected during the study described in the second paper, “The Influence of Leadership on Faculty Morale During Hard Times.” This paper sought to answer the question, “how does leadership influence intent to leave at small private 4-year non- profit institution of higher education in Massachusetts?”.

Lastly, chapter five of this dissertation, represents a culmination of the results from both studies. Based on the findings of both studies conducted for this dissertation, and all three papers, chapter five describes a set of evidence-based suggestions, grounded in research, for leaders interested in promoting faculty morale. These suggestions are not intended as a prescriptive model, but a set of recommendations leaders can adjust to their specific small campus settings.