COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND THE SCHOLARSHIP OF ENGAGEMENT: CHALLENGES FOR ACADEMIC RESEARCHERS
By:
Rose Marie Tapp-Neville
A Dissertation submitted
to the School of Graduate Studies in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy Faculty of Education
Memorial University of Newfoundland
September 2015
St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador
Dedication
This doctoral thesis is dedicated to the memory of Dr. David Dibbon who started this journey with me so many years ago. As I reflect upon Dave, I am reminded of a conversation I once had with him about the art of writing. At the time we were drafting a report that was coming together, and I remember him saying how amazing it was to create a piece of writing from scratch…you start with a blank page, but in the end you create something beautiful.
Words really cannot adequately express how Dave has touched my life. I had the great fortune to have Dave as a professor for one of my Master’s
graduate courses. I remember thoroughly enjoying the course with him that summer, and learning a lot about leadership. As he revealed his beliefs about educational administration, my admiration for his leadership capabilities grew. In my opinion, he truly “got” what leadership is all about. He talked the talk, but most importantly walked the walk. He was so down to earth in his teaching approach; a characteristic which as I got to know him better seemed to permeate his approach to life in general. It was so easy to talk to him; there was no “put on”; and his passion for education was real…he truly cared about making education in our province better for students and teachers. In later years I went on to work with him on a number of research projects including the CURA project, and when I returned to university to start my PhD, I asked him to be a member of my doctoral committee (a team that I referred to as the Dream Team since it was incredible to watch the synergy created when Dr. Jean Brown, Dr. Bruce
Sheppard, and Dr. Dave Dibbon collaborated). I feel truly blessed to have had the precious opportunity to work with this “dream” team as a part of my doctoral studies.
Dave was an amazing person who is sadly missed. Dave made me feel like nothing was impossible, and to always believe in myself and my abilities. He had this special talent to always make one feel better just by being in his
company. I miss our many chats, our emails back and forth as we collaborated on projects (he was always just an email away, and never too busy to respond), but most of all I miss his friendship. In his last email to me (end of October 2010), he wished me well with my work, and explained that perseverance in his opinion was the greatest virtue. Dave, in life and in death, has given me the motivation to persevere. I have persevered to finish my doctoral thesis despite personal
challenges, and will follow my dreams thanks, in part, to Dave’s encouragement and fine example. Dave, I am sure, is with me in spirit as I complete this
milestone in my life. I hope that he would think this creation is “a beautiful thing”.
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