Dissertation Defense Announcement

The College of Education announces the final Dissertation of

Ricky Fought

for the degree of Doctor of Education

August 4, 2016 at 11:30 am in 123, Ball Hall

Major Advisor: Mitsunori Misawa, PhD

A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP IN ACADEMIC HEALTH SCIENCES LIBRARIES IN THE UNITED STATES

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to better understand how academic health sciences library directors experience leadership. After transcribing and performing thematic analysis on the interviews of eleven library directors, three themes emerged: understanding leadership, path to leadership, and measuring success. These themes addressed the full range of leadership these directors experienced from their early development as leaders to their reflections on their success. The implications of this study include recommendations for leadership development for emerging library leaders, including how to recognize those emerging leaders, and the development of a tool to better measure their effectiveness.