Torrence E. Sparkman is the winner of the Best Dissertation Award of the Special Interest Group (SIG) Workplace Learning (WPL) of the American Educational Research Assocation (AERA). The title of his disseration is: Understanding the Leadership Development Experiences of Executive Church Denomination Leaders: A Phenomenological Approach. Dr Sparkman received his PhD from the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2012. His Doctoral Committee consisted of Professor K. Peter Kuchinke, Chair, Associate Professor Russell F. Korte, Associate Professor Assata Zerai and Professor David D. Daniels III. These findings of the research ‘…suggest that leadership development experiences for executive church leaders should include ministry venture creation, the use of relevant and real cases, and mentoring relationships’.
