Leo D. Doherty Memorial Award

LEO D. DOHERTY MEMORIAL AWARD

The 2023 NERA LEO D. DOHERTY MEMORIAL AWARD

Henry (Hank) Johnson

Department Chair, Business Management, New England Institute of Technology

The Leo D. Doherty Memorial Award is given to a longstanding NERA member who exemplified the qualities that Leo Doherty brought to NERA members, his colleagues, and students throughout his career. The award, instituted by the NERA Board of Directors in 1981, honors the memory of Leo Doherty. He was instrumental in developing and growing NERA as a professional association for educational researchers. His leadership qualities, both ethical and humane, encouraged others to pursue and achieve their goals.

The 2023 Leo D. Doherty Award recipient is Henry (Hank) Johnson, Department Chair for Business Management at New England Institute of Technology. Hank has contributed a wealth of service to NERA in a short time, having only joined in 2016. His spirit of wanting to make a contribution began the first day he joined a NERA conference – as I remember meeting him at Parallel Post and Hank asking me about avenues in which he could get more involved and use his skills toward the betterment of NERA.

Since that first meeting with Hank, he has served as Graduate Student Committee (GSIC) Chair, a 2021 conference chair, as a member of the NERA Board of Directors (2021-2023), and as a site selection committee member this past year. As GSIC Chair, Hank organized NERA sessions that focused on the business of consulting: how to set-up, market yourself, and be an effective consultant. “Get involved for the betterment of NERA,” he did.

From Hank’s nomination letter, from the now Past-President Bo Bashkov:

Over several years, his expertise and experience were crucial in navigating the onset and recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, which had many implications on conference planning, contracts, and public health, to name a few. In 2021, Hank served as conference co-chair in our second virtual conference on top of continuing to keep a pulse on the event planning and management industries and negotiating the best possible terms and outcomes on behalf of NERA.

…

Hank has had an enormously positive influence on NERA leadership, membership, and morale. He brought students to NERA who in turn have served for years in various roles, and he keeps a smile on his face even when the conversations get tough. To put it simply, Hank gets things done, and he has fun doing so, too.

Supporting Bo’s esteem for Hank, read what our NERA colleagues and leaders had to say:

… it did not take long for me to learn just how much he cares about people in general, his institution, and the NERA organization. I attribute a great deal of our incredible conference success that year, despite being virtual, to his creativity for working with his management to bring on additional support staff, including interns who were able to use their NERA experience toward completing their degrees, and at least in one case have now gone on to serve NERA in other capacities. … I have constantly been amazed at his agility for constantly walking the fine line that comes with ensuring our conference can be run in the best facility possible, while preserving our strong financial position and not causing undue
burden on those making a commitment to attend. Above all this, I cannot express enough how because of our collaborations together as part of NERA these last few years, how much I have come to consider him a true friend. He exemplifies what it means to have a good soul, one NERA is lucky to have, and why I am delighted to endorse his nomination for such a prestigious award. [Jonathan Steinberg, NERA 2024 President]

… I selected Hank as a 2021 conference chair as a result of his great work as GSIC chair and the unique perspective he brings to NERA. However, I had no idea how vital his unique perspective would be. Hank has a background in both public health and business management. When the COVID pandemic hit, those two skill sets were vital to NERA leadership and his expertise in both was truly a savior to our organization. In the process of planning the 2021 conference (and to an extent, the 2020 and 2022 conferences), Hank provided detailed public health updates and even assembled a team of graduate students from his university to help with public health concerns. When we had to take part in difficult contract negotiations in 2020 and 2021 while deciding when and how to cancel an in-person conference in Trumbull, Hank skillfully took the lead and ensured the best outcome for NERA. For this reason, when the site selection committee was assembled, it was obvious that Hank was the perfect choice for the committee. On this committee, he was a driving force to provide NERA with opportunities to use bidding systems that we would have never even been aware of and mentored us in negotiation techniques to get the best contract. At the end, when we renewed our contract with the Trumbull Marriott, he was able to arrange a better contract that NERA has been in years, despite the current economy and hotel prices. Additionally, throughout all of these experiences, Hank was always eager to provide and arrange additional resources to help NERA from his university, including work-study students, interns, videoediting help and social media help. These arrangements provided real-world opportunities for his students while providing NERA with great needed help. [Steven Holtzman, NERA 2021 President]

I met Hank at my first NERA conference when I was a doctoral candidate. In classic Hank fashion, he shared with me that I “must” join the Graduate Student Issues Committee. Yes he was the GSIC Chair at the time, but his pitch was more about me and how GSIC can benefit my doctoral journey, along with making my NERA Conference experience the best it can be. Well, he was not wrong. I had so much fun getting to know Hank, other graduates, and playing silly games over bits of food and drink at the GSIC Social! Throughout that conference, Hank made it a point to get to know me and my research, which he shared with colleagues when he introduced me. Over the years, Hank and I have become good friends and as he assumed different NERA Leadership roles, I have come to understand his resolve to support NERA in its continued growth is an integral part of his service mentality. …
His demeanor invites us, the members of NERA and its Board, towards excellence. [Matthew Speno, NERA 2022-2023 Board of Director]

These testimonials speak to Hank’s efforts to expand the NERA network of professionals, providing opportunities to educational researchers they may otherwise not have had. Hank has continued to make NERA better for our entire professional community. Speaking for all the members of the Doherty Committee (Sara Finney, Steven Holtzman, Thanos Patelis, and myself), we send congratulations to Hank Johnson, the 2023 Doherty Award Recipient!

Click here to read the Call for Nominations for the Leo D. Doherty Memorial Award

Previous Award Recipients:

2022	Thanos Patelis University of Kansas and Johns Hopkins University
2021	Tia Fechter Defense Personnel Assessment Center
2020	Sara Finney James Madison University
2019	No Award Given
2018	Steven Holtzman Educational Testing Service
2017	April Zenisky University of Massachusetts Amherst
2016	Elizabeth Stone Educational Testing Service
2015	Helen Marx Southern Connecticut State University
2014	Stephen G. Sireci University of Massachusetts Amherst
2013	Kristen Huff Regents Research Fund
2012	No Award Given
2011	David Moss University of Connecticut
2010	Darlene Perner Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania
2009	Gavrielle Levine Long Island University / C. W. Post
2008	Sharon F. Cramer Buffalo State College, State University of New York
2007	Diane E. Liebert DLE Associates
2006	Richard Schwab University of Connecticut
2005	Dianne Zager Pace University
2004	Jim Fleming University of Albany, SUNY
	Fran Archambault University of Connecticut (retired)
2003	Janet Carlson Texas A & M University at Galveston
2002	Barbara J. Helms Community Training & Assistance Center
2001	Scott W. Brown University of Connecticut
2000	Judith Robb University of New Hampshire
1999	Thomas Shuell University at Buffalo, SUNY
1998	Cheryl Gowie Siena College
1997	Kurt Geisinger LeMoyne University
1996	Liora Pedhazur Schmelkin Hofstra University
1995	Philip Archer Nassau County NY BOCES
1994	Robert McMorris State University of New York at Albany
1993	David L. Passmore Pennsylvania State University
1992	Douglas A. Penfield Rutgers University
1991	Janice Gibson University of Pittsburgh
1990	Laura Harckham Congers, NY
1989	Mary Horan New York State Education Department
1988	Edward F. Iwanicki University of Connecticut
1987	Reuben Rusch State University of New York at Albany
1986	No Award Given
1985	Richard L. Egelston New York State Education Department
1984	Mauritz Johnson State University of New York at Albany, retired
1983	Robert K. Gable University of Connecticut
1982	Richard M. Clark State University of New York at Albany
1981	Sigmund Tobias City University of New York