Greenleaf Scholars Program

Overview

The Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership is proud to sponsor the Greenleaf Scholars Program. The purpose of the program is to identify and support promising early career scholars and professionals who wish to study the impact of servant leadership in a wide range of organizational or social contexts. The program is administered through Seton Hall University. 

The goals of the program are (1) to inspire a new generation of critical scholarship based on the concepts of servant leadership that were articulated by Robert K. Greenleaf; (2) to support rigorous scholarship that offers evidence of the impact of servant leadership on the health and effectiveness of organizations and communities; and (3) to build a nurturing community of academic researchers, practitioners, and students who study and teach servant leadership.

Each Greenleaf Scholar will receive an award that totals $2,500.

Selection Criteria

Greenleaf Scholars will be selected by an international review committee comprised of faculty members from a range of universities. Applicants will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • Significance of work to the servant leadership movement
  • The expected influence on practice of the proposed study
  • Quality of the applicant’s research proposal, including the research plan, progress on the project, and scholarly potential of the research.
  • Demonstrated knowledge of servant leadership scholarship and Robert K. Greenleaf’s works.

 

We strongly encourage applicants from a diverse group of scholars who utilize a range of methodologies. The selection committee aims to represent the disciplinary and methodological breadth of servant leadership scholarship through the selection process. While previous award winners will, in rare cases, be considered for subsequent support, it would only be for a new research study and only if all previous commitments to the program have been fully met.

The Greenleaf Center will sponsor awards each year for pre-tenured faculty, early career practitioners, and advanced graduate students who engage in research that explores servant leadership. Greenleaf Scholars will be selected by an international review committee comprised of faculty members from the following public and private universities in the United States and overseas, including:

  • Seton Hall University
  • Georgia State University
  • Northwestern College
  • University of Illinois at Chicago
  • Union Institute and University

Eligibility

All applicants should be at the dissertation stage of their doctoral studies or hold a doctorate (no more than 5 years post-degree).

2025 Applications Are Open

Due May 2, 2025 at 12PM ET