“It is a great honor to be recognized as an Emerging Scholar,” said AQ senior Sarah Allen. “My initial response was gratitude for being recognized and encouraged by my professors.” Allen, along with junior Aimee Shemanski, was chosen to receive the Earhart Foundation Emerging Scholar Award for the 2011-2012 academic year, a prestigious honor given to one or two students of each Michigan Colleges Foundation member school every year.

Although Allen worked under faculty sponsor Dr. Susan Haworth-Hoeppner, sociology professor and women’s studies chairperson, she was initially nominated by sociology professor and department chairperson, Dr. Kathy Kremer. Dr. Kremer recognized the quality of work accomplished by Allen on contemporary women in leadership positions, and after encouraging her to continue the research to present at the Midwest Sociological Society’s annual meeting in March 2012, went on to nominate Allen to Provost Chad Gunnoe, Ph.D.

“I consider both Dr. Kremer and Dr. Haworth-Hoeppner to be mentors who have helped me reach my potential,” Allen said. “All of the professors I have had as a student at Aquinas have been helpful and encouraging to me endeavors as a student, and those experiences are what makes Aquinas the amazing educational institution that it is.”

Allen, a sociology and psychology double major with a women’s studies minor, began her study of women leaders while in a class taught by Dr. Haworth-Hoeppner. Intrigued, Allen continued her research, eventually interviewing 35 women leaders in various fields, including higher education, for-profit business, non-profit business, religious organizations and the judicial system.

“I am trying to understand how women navigate the labyrinth into leadership positions, the strategies they use, the obstacles they encounter and must overcome, and how they develop to become effective leaders and help develop more effective women leaders,” Allen said of her research. “The importance of my research is reflected by the number of women in leadership positions in society today.”

Indeed, her research has unmistakable relevance, as women comprise only 17% of the U.S. Senate and Congress, and 3% of CEO’s for Fortune 500 companies. Allen expressed her interest in continuing the research, as she argues for the applicability of the labyrinth model over that of the glass ceiling in the advancement of women leaders.

“Sarah Allen is an excellent student who has a passion for social science research,” Dr. Haworth-Hoeppner said. “[This] will allow her to network with student researchers from other schools and across disciplines… [and] will also be a valuable asset on her resume as she applies to graduate programs.”

Allen presents her findings in a paper titled “From Climbing the Promotional Ladder to Navigating the Promotional Labyrinth: Professional Women in Leadership Positions” at the Michigan Academy of Science, Arts, and Letters (MASAL) annual conference at Alma College on March 2, 2012.