Celebrating Dr. Jenny Riggle: 2025 Dissertation in Practice (DiP) Award Recipient

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) is proud to announce Dr. Jenny Riggle of Sacred Heart University as the recipient of the 2025 Dissertation in Practice (DiP) Award. This prestigious honor recognizes Dr. Riggle’s groundbreaking work on advancing student and teacher engagement through continuous improvement in rural districts.

About the Award-Winning Dissertation

Dr. Riggle’s dissertation, chaired by Dr. Vitoria A. Osbourne-Leute, explored how improvement science can reimagine engagement in one rural school district. Her work did not stop there—what began as a single-district effort has since expanded to 18 rural school districts, demonstrating its adaptability, sustainability, and wide-reaching impact.

Program of the Year

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) is pleased to announce Radford University’s Doctor of Education (EdD) Program as the recipient of the 2025 CPED Program of the Year Award!

Recognizing Excellence in EdD Program Design

Each year, CPED honors a member institution whose EdD program exemplifies innovation, impact, and alignment with CPED’s guiding principles. The Program of the Year Award is one of CPED’s highest distinctions, recognizing outstanding contributions to the field of professional practice doctorate education.

Honoring the 2025 David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award Recipients

The Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2025 David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award: Dr. Kofi Lomotey of Western Carolina University and Dr. Noelle Paufler of Clemson University.

The CPED David G. Imig Distinguished Service award is presented in recognition of an individual who has demonstrated important contributions to the Vision, Mission, and Values of CPED and the reclaiming of the EdD as the highest quality professional practice doctorate in education.  Both honorees exemplify the spirit of Dr. David G. Imig’s legacy through their leadership within CPED, teaching and advising in their EdD programs, and advancing understanding of the EdD through their scholarship. 

August 2025 Issue of Impacting Education

The August 2025 issue of Impacting Education (Vol. 10 No. 3), guest edited by Vachel Miller and Star Brown, explores the evolving landscape of EdD scholarship. This themed issue—The Present and Future of EdD Alternative Dissertations—highlights how programs are moving beyond the traditional five-chapter model to embrace innovative forms of scholarly work that bridge research and practice.

Dr. Lee S. Shulman, President Emeritus of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, was a pioneer in education whose transformative ideas reshaped the landscape of doctoral education. As the visionary behind the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED), Shulman’s leadership, insight, and boundless generosity of spirit have left an indelible mark on generations of scholars and practitioners.

During his tenure as president of the Carnegie Foundation, Shulman spearheaded two groundbreaking initiatives that paved the way for his call to reclaim education’s doctorates. The first, the Preparation for the Professions Program, delved into how various professions approached teaching and learning in professional preparation. The second, the Carnegie Initiative on the Doctorate (CID), examined doctoral education across six disciplines. At the intersection of these initiatives lay the field of education, grappling with the dual challenge of preparing researchers through the PhD and equipping practitioners through the EdD.

CPED is thrilled to announce  Texas A&M University’s Online EdD Program in Curriculum and Instructionhas been selected as the 2024 Program of the Year! This prestigious award recognizes member programs that embody the CPED Framework and serve as exemplars of innovation, distinction, and meaningful impact in the EdD community. 

Join us in congratulating our colleagues at Texas A&M University for this incredible achievement! 

Celebrating the 2024 David G. Imig Distinguished Service  Award Winners: Dr. Matthew Militello and Dr. Margaret “Terry” Orr

We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2024 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Imig Award! This prestigious award recognizes educational faculty at CPED member institutions who have made outstanding contributions to advancing the mission of CPED, particularly in preparing scholarly-practitioners to use research and collaboration to improve educational outcomes. The David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award is presented in recognition of an individual who has demonstrated important contributions to the Vision and Mission of CPED while reclaiming the EdD as the highest quality professional practice doctorate in education.

This year’s honorees, Dr. Matthew Militello, East Carolina University, and Dr. Margaret “Terry” Orr, Fordham University, exemplify this mission through their commitment to leadership within the CPED network, their work in EdD program design, their teaching and advising aligned with the CPED Framework, and their scholarship that enhances the understanding and implementation of the CPED Framework.

Revolutionizing Educational Leadership: The Transformation of the Ed.D. Program at California State University-San Bernardino

In the rapidly evolving landscape of advanced educational preparation, California State University-San Bernardino (CSUSB) has taken decisive steps to reshape its Ed.D. program, recognizing the imperative for academic rigor coupled with real-world impact. Guided by the principles of the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Framework, CSUSB has not only revitalized its program but also positioned it as a beacon of innovation and excellence in educational leadership.

CPED had an outstanding pool of applicants for the 2023 Program of the Year (POY) award! After lengthy deliberations and a rigorous screening process that involved an 8-member committee, representing just under 10% of CPED’s membership, the CPED Program of the Year (POY) Committee is pleased to announce the University of Pittsburgh as the 2023 Program of the Year. 

The University of Pittsburgh’s (Pitt) EdD is a program encompassing multiple aspects of transformation that deliberately weaves leadership, equity, health, and justice into the coursework and transforms experienced professionals into scholarly practitioners who are equipped to address inequities with improvement science methodologies. Experienced practitioners have the option of selecting one of eight majors to dive deeply into the causes of current inequities and gain a comprehensive view of education and health in society. Students learn from peers and faculty experts and gain the tools needed to manage change in complex systems and work to create a more just future.

Welcome New Board Officers and Directors! 

Dr. Gaëtane Jean-Marie will serve as the incoming Board Chair. Jean-Marie is the Dean of the College of Education at Rowan University. Prior to Rowan, she was formerly the Dean of the College of Education at the University of Northern Iowa, Department Chair and Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Louisville, and held a faculty position at the University of Oklahoma and Florida International University. Jean-Marie has been a member of CPED since its inception in 2007 as a faculty member, department chair, and two-time dean. She will serve as the Chair through June 2025. Stay tuned for more from Chairwoman Jean-Marie. 

CPED graduates are transformative teachers who enrich lives, schools, and the teaching profession. They embrace possibilities, teaching equitably, justly, and ethically, positively impacting students, families, and society. They foster collaboration across classrooms, homes, and communities and tackle real-world teaching challenges.

Special Issue:

Designing, Developing, and Sustaining Doctoral Programs 

in a Post Pandemic Age

Proposal Submission Deadline: April 1, 2023