Organizational Leadership Doctorate Program Moves Up Four Spots on the Leadership 500 Ranking

The GSEP Doctor of Education in Organizational Leadership (EDOL) program ranked 13th in the Education/Universities/Schools of Management and Business category for excellence in leadership development, 2014 Leadership 500. Last year, the program ranked 17th.

"It is an honor for our program to be continuously recognized for its success in preparing the next generation of leaders," said June Schmieder-Ramirez, PhD, academic chair and program director for the EDOL program. "We are very proud of the work accomplished by our students and alumni, many of whom hold high ranking positions in prestigious organizations across the country and around the world."

The EDOL program at Pepperdine University has been under the direction of Schmieder-Ramirez for the last several years. With extensive leadership experience in both education and business, she was instrumental in designing and launching the program.

Schmieder-Ramirez, along with EDOL faculty, approach curriculum design strategically to ensure real-world relevancy and student application. Emphasis is placed on providing students with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in their workplaces and to immediately increase the value they bring to their organizations upon entrance in the program. This is an outcomes focused program.

"The EDOL program draws a very diverse group of students who work in a variety of fields spanning education, nonprofit, and corporate," says Schmieder-Ramirez. "We employ the scholar-practitioner model, which links theory and learning to field practice. This method is key to ensuring student engagement and outcomes, as curricula are relevant to students' individual careers and experiences."

Based upon the evaluation of 1,000 organizations known for developing top leaders, Leadership Excellence, selects 500 top programs to feature across seven unique categories: program vision/mission and the degree to which these strategies are linked to outcomes and meaningful to participants; the design, content and quality of the curriculum; the breadth and depth of involvement by program participants; measurements of return on investment and the level at which performance accountability is integrated into the program; the quality of presenters and effectiveness of presentations; the take-home value of the program and its impact on participants; and outreach, or how the program benefits stakeholders and the broader community.