The Leadership Communication doctoral program at Kansas State University proudly announces their inaugural graduates. Roberta Maldonado Franzen, Ph.D., and Onyedikachi Ekwerike, Ph.D., have completed their doctorates in Leadership Communication, an interdisciplinary program with faculty from the Department of Communications and Agricultural Education, the Department of Communication Studies, the Staley School of Leadership Studies and the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
As part of K-State’s land-grant mission, the Leadership Communication program is dedicated to research that strengthens Kansas and global communities. The program seeks to create bold, community-engaged scholarship that advances the public good. Answering to a call from various industries, government, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), Leadership Communication doctoral students pursue research on leading change, engaging community, and advancing communication. Because of these focus areas, the program attracts widely diverse students with divergent career goals. Graduates of this program will use community-engaged research to transform the academic, nonprofit, government, private and civic sectors in which they live and work.
“When our graduates leave, they will have the research methods and theoretical backgrounds to contribute to a process of leading change. This includes engagement skills, like convening employees across an organization or facilitating community members in a broad-based coalition,” said Tim Steffensmeier, director of the Leadership Communication doctoral program and professor at the Staley School of Leadership Studies.
“Roberta and Onyedikachi embody the commitments and ethos of this program. We got lucky that they (and their classmates who started the new program in 2018) took a risk and chose us. They’ve helped catalyze this program from zero to 30+ active students in three years!”
About the graduates
Roberta Maldonado Franzen, a first-generation student from Newark, New Jersey, has a background studying human resources administration, conflict resolution, and psychology. During her pursuit of the doctorate, she focused her work on engaging the industry community and solving workforce development problems by building a talent pipeline to lead in a diverse and global world. Maldonado Franzen plans to continue her interest in strategic initiatives to develop emerging leaders and evaluate program outcomes with her degree.
“I broadened my professional network with faculty and students, and their contributions are not lost on my continued growth,” said Maldonado Franzen. “I appreciate the learning communities that embraced curiosity and created space to explore alternate ways of thinking and doing.”
Maldonado Franzen’s dissertation focused on developing a talent pipeline through a community of practice. University and industry partners came together to create and evaluate a leadership development program designed to prepare emerging leaders.
In addition to her work on the Leadership Communication doctorate, she oversaw the Staley School of Leadership Studies’ Cargill Fellows program for two years and worked with Third Floor Research, a Staley School partnership with the Kansas Leadership Center.
Onyedikachi Ekwerike, from Lagos, Nigeria, has a background in Psychology. He earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology at Lagos State University and his master’s degree in psychology at the University of Lagos.
During his pursuit of the doctorate, he focused his work on developing nonprofit executives’ leadership capacity to create social change. With this degree, Ekwerike plans to become a leadership educator and developer who works with organizations and communities to increase their capacity to lead change.
“The Leadership Communication doctoral program is unique with its emphasis on developing community-engaged leaders and scholars,” said Ekwerike. “The program has increased my capacity to work with diverse stakeholders on various complex problems facing my community. I have loved learning from community-engaged professors whose research and engagements are making a real impact in the world.”
Ekwerike’s dissertation focused on understanding how nonprofit leaders work with communities to create social change in Nigeria.
In addition to his work on the doctoral degree, Ekwerike is the founder of Postpartum Support Network (PSN) Africa, an organization aimed at providing access to maternal mental health care for women and families in Nigeria. He was also a graduate teaching assistant in K-State’s Department of Communication Studies, where he taught Public Speaking, Small Group Communication and Organizational Communication.
Both students successfully completed their degrees, including their dissertations, in the midst of a global pandemic. Amid great uncertainty and change, they truly embodied the very kind of scholarship needed to navigate these times.
The Leadership Communication doctoral program is available in person and online, making it available to students locally and globally.
Applications for the 2022-23 academic year are currently being accepted. Learn more.
