Dr. Comfort Okpala
Dr. Comfort Okpala is a professor of leadership studies in the Department of Leadership Studies and Adult Education, College of Education at North Carolina A & T State University for over 13 years. She served as the Chair for the department for more than five years. She also served as the Assistant Dean for Assessment in the College of Education for two years. Dr. Okpala received her doctorate degree in educational leadership with a minor in business research from Fayetteville State University in 1998. She received a master’s in business administration with a minor in international management in 1982 from Governor’s State University. She received a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Roosevelt University in 1981. Her teaching areas include Leadership Theory, Organizational Structures, Organizational Behaviors, Qualitative Research, Quantitative Research, Higher Education Finance, Decision Making, and Dissertation Research. She has supervised a number of student’s dissertation research and has served as the chair for over forty-five dissertations. Her research agenda is grounded in leadership studies, STEM leadership, global leadership issues, policy, finance, social justice, resource equity, and African Studies. Dr. Okpala has a variety of publications in refereed journals like the Journal of Value-Based Leadership, International Business and Economics Research Journal, International Journal of Education and Social Science, International Journal of Business and Social Science, Journal of Continuing Higher Education, Journal of Early Childhood Education, Journal of Education Finance, Journal of Educational Researcher, Urban Education, Journal of Applied Business, Journal of Negro Education, Journal of College Teaching and Learning, Contemporary Issues in Education Research, Education, Journal of Research Initiative, Instructional Psychology, Georgia Educational Researcher, and others. Dr. Okpala’s published articles have received over one thousand citations by national and international scholars and researchers according to Google Scholar. She is also a noted Co-Editor of a Book Series and has authored several book chapters and books on leadership. Dr. Okpala’s is currently serving on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Journal of Negro Education and The Journal of Research Initiative. She is also a Co-PI and Co-Director on the Education Team on the Center for STEM Leadership (CASL) grant from NSF.
Dr. Okpala has received numerous leadership awards and commendations for her work in leadership and international communities. She is married for over thirty-five years with three children.