The Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award

The International Leadership Association (ILA) and the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) are pleased to co-sponsor the annual Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award to recognize outstanding unpublished papers by undergraduate and graduate students. The award is named in honor of the distinguished scholar and former Chief Executive Officer of the Center.

Samantha A. Penney is presented with the Clark Award at #ILA2019Ottawa

Submission Deadline: 5PM EDT, Wednesday, 15 May 2024

2024 Call For Submissions and Application

The Clark Award will be presented either online during a special event or in person in Chicago at ILA’s 26th Global Conference, 7-10 November. 

The recipient of the award will also receive the following:

  • $500 cash prize (to be shared if there are multiple authors)
  • An engraved Award along with a certificate suitable for framing.
  • Complimentary registration to present at ILA’s Global Conference, 7-10 November in Chicago or opportunity to present at a special virtual event.
  • Complimentary 1-year ILA membership.
  • Recognition at the ILA conference and in various multi-media ILA publications.

Submission Instructions

Submit entries here.

Submissions may be either empirically or conceptually based. Multi-disciplinary approaches to research are welcomed. The paper should focus on some aspect of leadership or leadership development.  Submissions will be judged by the following criteria:

  1. The degree to which the paper addresses issues and trends that are significant to the study of leadership;
  2. The extent to which the paper shows consideration of the relevant theoretical and empirical literature;
  3. The extent to which the paper makes a conceptual or empirical contribution;
  4. Articulacy in writing and presentation; and
  5. The implications of the research for application to leadership identification and development.

Please read submission requirements carefully.

Papers must be authored and submitted by graduate or undergraduate students only. All authors must currently be students or must have graduated within one-year prior to the submission deadline of 5PM EDT Wednesday, 15 May 2024. CCL staff and papers submitted to other CCL awards are ineligible. All entrants must:

Upload three PDF formatted documents (other document formats will not be accepted)

  • The first PDF should only include the manuscript with the title of the paper on the first page. Do not include the author’s name or contact information.
  • The second 2-3 page PDF should only include the abstract with the title of the paper on the cover page.
  • The third PDF should be a letter on university letterhead from one faculty member certifying that a student wrote the paper and a short statement (150 words or less) conveying why this paper should receive the award.

All three PDF documents should be attached to the submission form and sent together. Separate attachments will not be accepted.

Papers are limited to 30 double-spaced pages, including title page, abstract, figures, tables, and references. Papers above this limit that are not completely doubled spaced are not be eligible for the Award and will not be reviewed. Papers should be prepared according to current edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

Papers will be reviewed anonymously by a panel of researchers associated with CCL. In the absence of papers deemed deserving of the award, the award may be withheld. Entries (accompanied by faculty letters) must be received by 5:00 PM EDT, on Wednesday, 15 May 2024. The winning paper will be announced August 1.  The award will be presented either virtually (exact date TBD) or at ILA’s 2024 Global Conference, 7-10 November in Chicago.

Submit entries at https://ccl.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6KfP4fKLgIeRojA

Contact the Center for Creative Leadership at clarkaward@ccl.org if you have questions or need assistance.

Past Winners of the Kenneth E. Clark Student Research Award​

2023

Hsuan-Che (Brad) Huang

Hsuan-Che (Brad) Huang

“It’s All for Show” Performative Allyship as Saying One Thing but Doing Nothing by Leaders

2022

Suyang Ye

Suyang Ye

Investigating Boundary Conditions for Shared Leadership – Team Performance Relationship: A Team Leadership Coordination Perspective

2022

Teng Zhao

Co-Author
Teng Zhao

Investigating Boundary Conditions for Shared Leadership – Team Performance Relationship: A Team Leadership Coordination Perspective

2021

Steven Zhou

Steven Zhou

Patterns of Leadership Behavior: A Person-Centered Approach to Assessing Leadership Styles Across Gender and Level

2020

Sylvie Plante

Leading Innovation Using Social Capital in Public-Private Partnerships

2019

Samantha A. Penney

Samantha A. Penney

Fostering a Psychologically Healthy Workplace Through Leadership

2018

Min-Kyu Joo

Min-Kyu Joo

Strategic Leadership of Female Middle Managers: How Do Female Middle Managers Benefit the Bottom Line?

2017

Aleka MacLellan

The Role of Leaders in Motivating Their Subordinates at Work

2016

Kyoung Yong Kim

Kyoung Yong Kim

Supportive Leadership: A Conditional Process Model Linking Leadership, Climate, and Horizontal Relationships Between Subordinates

2015

Deirdre P. Dixon

Deirdre P. Dixon

Staying Alive: The Experience of In Extremis Leadership

2014

2014 Clark Award Winner Emily Grijalva

Emily Grijalva

Narcissism and Leadership: A Meta-Analytic Review of Linear and Nonlinear Relationships

2013

2013 Clark Award Winner Chenwei Liao

Chenwei Liao

Divergent Effects of Leader-Member Exchange Differentiation on Individual and Group Outcomes: A Multilevel Analysis

2011
Taylor E. Sparks
What Do You Give Me?’ Versus ‘What Do You Mean to Me?’: Exploring the Impact of Ethical Leadership and Abusive Supervision on Employee Well-Being

2011
Brian C. Gunia
The Blame-Taker’s Dilemma: Actions and Reactions in the Wake of Organizational Failure

2010
Dong Liu, Ho Kwong Kwan, Greg Fisher
Founding CEOs’ Core Self-Evaluations and New Venture Performance: A Longitudinal Multilevel Analysis

2009
Marisa Adelman
The Relationship Between Dysfunctional Interpersonal Tendencies, Derailment Potential, and Turnover

2008
Hakan Ener
Leadership Experience and Organizational Learning

2007
Robyn Brouer
The Role of Political Skill in the Leadership Process-Work Outcomes Relationships

2006
Herman Tse
Understanding Leader-Follower and Team-Member Exchange Relationships in Teams: A Multilevel Investigation

2005
Franklin Kudo
Transformational Leadership Development in Adolescent Youth: Authoritative Parenting, and the Mediating Effect of Psychological Autonomy and Mastery Orientation

2004
Lisa Boyce
Propensity for Self-Development of Leadership Attributes: Understanding, Predicting, and Supporting Performance of Leader Self-Development

2003
Marie Dasborough
Cognitive Asymmetry in Employee Affective Reactions to Leadership Behaviors

2002
Nathan Hiller
Understanding and Measuring Shared Leadership in Work Teams

2002 Honorable Mention
Kevin S. Groves
Leader Social and Emotional Skills and Follower Openness to Organizational Change

2002 Honorable Mention
Z. William Todorovic & Francine Schlosser
Understanding the Influence of Leader and Follower Behaviors on a Firm’s Entrepreneurial Orientation – Performance Linkage

2001
Tomas R. Giberson
Embedding Leader Traits: Leadership’s Role

2000
Jeffrey C. Kohles
The Vision Integration Process: Leadership, Communication, and a Reconceptualization of Vision

1999
Michael E. Brown
The Needle in the Haystack: Looking for Ethics in

1998
Sheila Simsarian Webber
Leadership and Trust Facilitating Cross-Functional Team Success

1997
Mohan Thite
Identifying Key Characteristics of Technical Project Leadership

1997
Debra Baker Beck
Called to Service: Developing a Workable Model for Nonprofit and Grassroots Organizations

1996 Graduate Category
Stuart J.M. Weierter
Who Wants to Play Follow the Leader? A Theory of Charismatic Relationships Based on Routinized Charisma and Follower Characteristics

1996 Undergraduate Category
Duane Covrig
Moral Administration: Dealing With Ethical Routines, Challenges and Dilemmas

1996 Undergraduate Category
Marguerite Schneider
A Stakeholder Theory of Managerial Leadership