Bridging research and impact in leadership
Graduate student Chibuzor Mirian Azubuike is a force to be reckoned with.
Already an accomplished public speaker and author of two books — the bestselling The Girl Who Found Water and the children’s book My Birthmark, My Gift — she’s also the founder of the Haske Water Aid and Empowerment Foundation, which has provided clean water to over 60,000 Nigerians.
These accomplishments are just the tip of the iceberg.
Hailing from Nigeria, she’s now pursuing a doctorate in leadership communication at Kansas State University’s Staley School of Leadership. Her research focuses on women’s issues and leadership, blending her life’s philosophy with her work.
“I describe myself as a scholar-practitioner,” Azubuike said. “A scholar-practitioner is one who not only does research but also implements solutions in real-life situations. A scholar-practitioner is a change-maker who is actively involved in social change.”
For her doctoral dissertation, she’s studying the resilience of Indigenous women.
“Women have often been studied from a place of powerlessness, but I believe they’ve been practicing leadership in many ways,” Azubuike said. “I’m exploring resilience and how women have demonstrated it over the years.”
Her pilot study, which included interviews and a literature review on Indigenous women’s resilience, has shown promise. “The findings can teach us a lot about leading in difficult situations and will help create leadership models and programs for women,” Azubuike said.
A true change-maker, Azubuike’s commitment to women’s issues has earned her the International Doctoral Degree Fellowship from the American Association of University Women, among many other awards.
These include the Outstanding Researcher Award from the Staley School of Leadership, a Mandela Washington Fellowship, a Next Generation of African Scholars Fellowship from the Social Science Research Council, and a Harry Frank Guggenheim Young African Scholar Award.
Azubuike and her adviser, Andy Wefald, recently received a mini-grant from the Association of Leadership Educators to facilitate a workshop for 30 women change-makers.
The hybrid-format workshop, held in Onitsha, Nigeria, was described by participants as “new and transformational.”
Curated from: A scholar-practitioner (k-state.edu)
Written by: Lilly Majors
