Kenda Grover, University of Arkansas assistant professor of adult and lifelong learning, received the 2016 Emerging Scholar Award from the Eastern Educational Research Association.

The award was presented to Grover at the association's conference in February in Hilton Head, South Carolina.

Kate Mamiseishvili, head of the Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders, said Grover excels in all areas of teaching, mentoring, research and service and was truly deserving of the prestigious award.

"She takes great pride in her courses and spends a significant amount of time on course design," Mamiseishvili wrote in a nominating letter. "It is no surprise that one of her online courses was used as a model for faculty who were new to online teaching."

In addition to producing numerous refereed journal articles and a book chapter and making numerous regional, state and national presentations, Grover advises graduate students and serves on doctoral advisory and dissertation committees.

"There is no better praise than a former dissertation advisee saying: 'not a day goes by when I don't realize how lucky I am to have had her as my dissertation chair,'" Mamiseishvili said.

One of Grover's strengths is her collaborative research work with students, Mamiseishvili said.

"She encourages her students to explore research opportunities, immerse themselves in scholarship from early on, and present their class projects at conferences," Mamiseishvili said. "Dr. Grover has been extremely successful integrating her teaching and research and promoting the theory-to-practice model with her students, and her efforts have clearly transformed the culture of the program."

The Emerging Scholar Award recognizes a scholar for outstanding theoretical or applied research that contributes to the national professional body of knowledge about education and for demonstrated excellence in teaching, advising or mentoring. The nominees must have completed a terminal degree no more than five years ago or begun an academic position no more than five years ago.

Grover's research agenda includes inquiry into the areas of self-directed learning, which is considered to be a foundational concept in the field of adult and lifelong learning, and its relationship to community and nonformal education and health and wellness, and experiential learning in serious leisure pursuits. She also conducts research related to a concept known as communities of practice, professional development in service areas in higher and continuing education, faculty development for instructors who teach online, and programs that focus on job training in community colleges.

Grover is in her fourth year in a tenure-track position on the College of Education and Health Professions faculty. She previously served as coordinator of graduate student recruitment and relations for the Department of Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders.