Lehigh’s College of Education announced that Megan L. Hauser ’24 Ed.D. was nominated by faculty in the Educational Leadership Program (EDL) as the recipient of this year’s Elizabeth V. Stout Dissertation Award for her dissertation, “The Women in the Principal’s Office: A Mixed Methods Study of Principal Time Use and the Gendered Division of Household Labor.”
The award recognizes significant scholarly achievement in a dissertation project. Craig Hochbein, director of the EDL Program, chaired Hauser’s dissertation committee and was among those who nominated Hauser for the award.
“Megan is the first researcher to integrate evidence from studies of principal time use and studies of household labor,” Hochbein wrote in his nomination. “In her dissertation, Megan demonstrated how gendered differences in the time required for household labor influences the professional work of women in the principal pipeline.”
Hauser began her career in education as an English teacher. As she progressed in her career, her interest in educational leadership grew. She says, “I can still recall when my worlds collided and I knew I'd found my research focus–merging concepts of K-12 principal time use with my personal fascination with the division of household labor.”
Currently, Hauser serves as lead researcher for a study looking at teacher leader best practices using a mixed methods analysis. “I'm grateful for my work, my research participants who made it happen, and the COE for giving me the space to learn and grow as a researcher,” Hauser says. “This is only the beginning!”
Endowed by the late Robert Stout, former dean of the graduate school and professor emeritus of materials science and engineering, the Elizabeth V. Stout Award was created in memory of his wife. One graduate from each of Lehigh’s five colleges can receive the dissertation award at the Doctoral Hooding during Commencement each year.
Story by Beth Blew
