EdD Director and Students Represent Webster at CPED Convening

Webster University’s Doctor of Education (EdD) program demonstrated its commitment to innovative scholarship and professional development at the 2024 Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) Convening.

Held Oct. 14-17 at the University of Hawaii at Mānoa, the conference brought together educational leaders and scholars from CPED member institutions across the globe. 

Dr. Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, Webster’s EdD Program Director and three doctoral students, Trish Iaiennaro, Ethel Smith and Andrea Jackson, represented Webster at the convening. Since joining CPED, Webster’s EdD program has actively participated in these annual events, underscoring its dedication to advancing the field of doctoral education. 

Dr. Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, Andrea Jackson, Trish Iaiennaro and Ethel Smith attend CPED.  

Highlights from the CPED Convening 

Leadership at the Delegates’ Business Meeting

Lee-Johnson participated in the CPED delegates’ business meeting, where institutional representatives shared updates, challenges and recommendations for enhancing EdD programs. During the meeting, Lee-Johnson advocated for CPED to prioritize the professional development of doctoral faculty, particularly in fostering professional disposition expectations. 

Innovations in Doctoral Research

Lee-Johnson joined a session titled “Alternatively Alternative: How Are We Doing Dissertations Differently? Insights from a Special Issue of Impacting Education.” This session highlighted innovations in doctoral research and dissertations. Lee-Johnson, along with five doctoral students, co-authored an article on the Doctoral Digital Portfolio, an alternative dissertation model that emphasizes digital publication and career-focused outputs. The article, currently under review for the CPED journal “Impacting Education,” is expected to be published in Spring 2025. Lee-Johnson presented on the key tenets of this upcoming article and shared insights with the audience.

The Doctoral Digital Portfolio initiative, recently approved by Webster’s Graduate Council, is designed to: 

1. Expand readership by utilizing digital publishing platforms. 

2. Enhance career advancement by showcasing students’ technological skills in conducting and disseminating research. 

3. Broaden global access to doctoral research by making findings available to international teaching and research communities. 

Doctoral Student Presentations 

Lee-Johnson, Iaiennaro, Smith and Jackson co-presented “Huliau: Reframing Transformative Learning with an Anti-Colonialist Lens Among EdD Candidates.” This session provided students with the opportunity to share their academic experiences and network with conference participants, which fostered valuable professional connections. In addition, Smith and Jackson showcased their research through poster presentations during the convening’s poster session. Their posters, displayed in a central ballroom, attracted significant attention and sparked engaging discussions with attendees interested in their research topics. 

Ethyl Smith and her poster presentation

“Participating in the CPED presentations granted unparallelled opportunities,” Jackson said. “Being in a shared space with other doctoral candidates and professionals was a dynamic feeling. The power of networking is often talked about, but shared spaces such as the CPED Convening made it possible, especially for those who ordinarily would not have access to such resources. It cannot be understated the value of the presentations. I left with many connections and have submitted to multiple journals and other conferences as a result of my participation. From this experience alone, I'm now aligned with other professionals with similar research interests providing the chance to collaborate and advance academic scholarship.”  

Supporting Doctoral Students Beyond the Classroom 

Andrea Jackson and her poster at CPED Conference

The EdD program at Webster University is committed to supporting its students’ professional growth. Participation in the CPED Convening offered invaluable opportunities for doctoral students to gain research insights, present their work and build professional networks within a global community of scholars. 

Webster’s EdD program is now accepting applications for Fall 2025. The deadline to apply is July 1, 2025. To learn more, please contact Admissions Officer Natasha McCallister or visit our website. 

By Yin Lam Lee-Johnson, PhD