The Kathleen Christensen Dissertation Award

Nomination and Selection Procedures

Award

Recipients receive a framed award certificate and a check for $2500 and an additional $500 to provide travel expenses to the WFRN conference.

Eligibility

Current WFRN members who completed their doctorate in 2022 through February 2024.  The award recipient must have the dissertation fully defended and filed by February 28, 2024.

Nomination Procedures

A call for nominations will be presented in Fall 2023.

Self-nominations are accepted.

Nominations include the following:

  • The nominee’s a summary of the dissertation project (no longer than 5 single spaced pages) that includes the following as separate sections:
    • Summary of the research question and its importance
    • Summary of research methods
    • Summary of key findings
    • Summary of Implications
    • Summary of existing impact of the dissertation project
    • Plans for future scholarship as related to the dissertation project
  • Nominee’s vitae
  • One letter of support from the nominee’s doctoral committee chair or member of the doctoral committee.
  • The committee may request additional information, such as the dissertation manuscript or referenced publications/presentations, but these materials are not requested at time of submission.

Selection Procedure

Recipients will be selected on the following criteria:

  • Importance of the research question
  • Methodological rigor
  • Importance of findings
  • Potential future impact, broadly defined, of the dissertation project

Award Nomination and Selection Schedule

  • Executive Officer posts calls for nominations and applications – June 1, September 1, and November 1 non-conference year.
  • Nominations and application deadline – January 15 conference year.
  • Committee advances recommendations to Executive Committee – March 15 conference year.
  • Committee recommends (if needed) adjustments to the award procedures to Executive Committee – March 15 conference year.
  • Award Committee chair notifies recipient – April 15 conference year.
  • Award is presented in advance of presidential plenary – June conference year.

Committee Structure

The committee will be composed of 2 WFRN members, identified by the Vice President (who will invite the prior recipient to serve on the committee) and approved by the Executive Committee, and 2 SHRM representatives as identified by SHRM.

Awards Committee – 2024

WFRN Representatives

  • Vanessa Conzon, Assistant Professor of Management and Organization, Boston College, USA
  • Clare Kelliher (Award Chair), Professor Labor Studies, Cranfield University UK (Committee Chair. email clare.kelliher@cranfield.ac.uk)

SHRM Representatives

  • TBD
  • TBD

Prior Awards Committees

Awards Committee – 2022

WFRN Representatives

  • Clare Kelliher, Professor Labor Studies, Cranfield University UK (Committee Chair. email clare.kelliher@cranfield.ac.uk)
  • Hak Yoon Kim, Ph.D. 2020 Award Recipient

SHRM Representatives

  • Dr Edie Goldberg incoming SHRM Foundation board chair and current board member
  • Nancy A. Woolever, MAIS, SHRM-SCP | Vice President, Certification, Society for Human Resource Management