Thomas A. Kochan & Stephen R. Sleigh Best Dissertation Award

DEADLINE: January 15, 2013

PURPOSE: The Labor and Employment Relations Association has established an annual competition for post-doctoral students in the field of industrial relations* or related fields such as history, political science, economics, sociology, etc., as long as they are broadly related to employment relations as reflected in the publications and membership of the LERA. The purpose is twofold: (1) to stimulate greater awareness and interest among doctoral students at colleges and universities of the field of industrial relations, and (2) to provide a vehicle by which an outstanding thesis by a doctoral student can be made more widely known to scholars in the field.

ELIGIBILITY: The Thomas A. Kochan and Stephen R. Sleigh Best Dissertation Award competition is open to doctoral students who completed or will complete their thesis at an accredited college or university between the dates of January 1, 2011 and June 30, 2013. Dissertations and correspondence must be in the English language.

AWARDS: The competition prize to be awarded annually shall be $1,000 (one-thousand-dollars). The winner shall be announced at the Association's Annual Meeting and the prize paid within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of the meeting in January. A one (1) year complimentary LERA membership will also be granted to the winning author.

JUDGING: Entries will be judged on the basis of originality, quality of analysis, quality of research, style and organization, practicality and timeliness of subject. The entries will be judged by members of a special Academic Awards Committee.

ENTRY PROCEDURE: Students who wish to enter the competition need to:
1) complete an entry form and
2) submit it with a copy of the thesis, their vita/resume, and a letter from a member of the student's Ph.D. Committee stating why the thesis is especially meritorious.

• The thesis must be submitted by email to LERAoffice@illinois.edu (not faxed or mailed), and our preference is to receive all materials electronically, but if the student needs to fax or mail some of the items, they may do so.
• A member of the dissertation committee may directly send us a letter of support for the entry, or the student may forward it to us with the rest of the entry materials.
• The entry form (.pdf) must be completed and returned with the other entry materials.
• The entry form, thesis, vita/resume, and letter from the student's committee should be sent to:
  

  LERAoffice@illinois.edu
  Paula Wells, Executive Director
  Labor and Employment Relations Association
  121 School of LER
  504 East Armory Avenue
  Champaign, IL 61820
  Fax: 217-265-5130

ENTRY DEADLINE: All portions of the entry (entry form, thesis, vita/resume, and letter of support) must be submitted to the LERA headquarters in Champaign, Illinois on or before January 15, 2013. The winners will be notified by mail of their selection by mid-April.

For further information, contact the LERA Office at (217) 333-0072 or email LERAoffice@illinois.edu.

* Industrial Relations is defined as all aspects of the field of labor and employment including employer and employee organizations, labor relations, labor markets, labor economics, human resources, and the workplace.