Stephany Dunstan Receives Outstanding Doctoral Research Award

Stephany Dunstan, Ph.D.,  Assistant Director of the Office of Assessment, has been awarded the 2014 Outstanding Doctoral Research Award from Emerald Group Publishing and the International Higher Education Teaching and Learning Association (HETL).

Her dissertation, completed at NC State and titled The Influence of Speaking a Dialect of Appalachian English on the College Experience, highlights the role that language plays in students’ experiences in higher education. Dr. Dunstan’s research examines dialect as an element of diversity that shapes the college experience, particularly for speakers of non-standardized dialects of English.

Submissions were judged on the following criteria:

• Significance/implications for theory, practice, and policy
• Originality, innovation, and potential impact
• Appropriateness, application, and rigor of methodology
• Quality of data collection/analysis and research findings

Dr. Dunstan has presented her research findings at the Association for the Study of Higher Education and the American Educational Research Association, and also hopes to present at the HETL conference in September 2015.