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- Keyhan Shams
Keyhan Shams, Ph.D.
Research assistant professor
keyhan@ksu.edu, View my CV
Learner | Analytical | Achiever | Strategic | Focus
Campus office: 204 Leadership Studies Building
Responsibilities
- Assistant director of Third Floor Research
- Manage research projects in conjunction with Third Floor Research at the Kansas Leadership Center
- Member of core leadership team, International Leadership Association's public leadership community
Research
My research revolves around studying the impact of leadership development programs and community engagement efforts. Using mixed-methods, I am particularly focused on developing assessment tools and methodologies to measure the impact of leadership interventions. Moreover, as a former urban planner and current leadership scholar, I am also interested in studying how leadership emerges in the public sphere, particularly urban spaces.
Organizations
- United Nations Human Settlements Program, UN-Habitat office in Iran
Publications
Dissertation
- Shams, K. (2024). Bridging the Gap Between Learning & Practicing Leadership: Developing New Instruments to Evaluate Leadership & Adaptation. [ Doctoral dissertation, Kansas State University].
Books
- Reid,j. & Sietchiping, R. (2022). National urban policy: A guiding framework (J. Kordestani, K. Shams, H. Marashi, & N. Zivdar, Trans.). Tehran Urban Planning & Research Center. (Original Work Published 2016)
- Shams, K. & Kordestani, J. (2016). The city Iranians need. UN-Habitat Iran.
UN-Habitat (2016). - International guidelines on urban & territorial planning (Translation Team). UN-Habitat Iran (Original Work Published 2015).
Book chapters
- Salehi, E., & Shams, K., Gott, T. (In press). Hijab, habitus, hysteresis: Unveiling Iranian women’s somatic leadership. In R. J. Thompson & L. Topuzova (Eds.), Embodied somatic leadership for peacebuilding and protest: Women’s counteroffensive to violence and injustice. Emerald.
- Shams, K. & Gott, T. (2023). Iran’s Women Life Freedom: How leadership emerged. In J. Barnes, M. Stevens, B. Z. Ekelund, & K. Perham-Lippman (Eds.), Inclusive leadership: Equity and belonging in our communities. Emerald.
Articles
- Shams, K., Dailey, S., & Steffensmeier, T. (2024). Unveiling the impact: A mixed-method inquiry into the impact of leadership development programs. Journal of Leadership Education. https://doi.org/10.1108/JOLE-01-2024-0029
- Shams, K., Barahouei, M., & Priest, K. L. (2023). Enabling social change: A case study of complex adaptive leadership within an informal settlement in Iran. International Journal of Public Leadership, 20(1), 15-35. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-01-2023-0001
Reports
- Shams, K. & Steffensmeier, T. R (In press). 2023 leadership development path evaluation study. Kansas Leadership Center.
- Shams, K., Steffensmeier, T.R, Dailey, S., Mauricio, D. (2023). Your Leadership Edge 2021 program evaluation study. Kansas Leadership Center.
- Shams, K., Steffensmeier, T.R (2022). Namesake Committee Community Survey Analysis. Kansas Leadership Center.
Blog/web posts and articles
- Shams, K. & Gott, T. (2022, Dec 12). The unusual voice that rings in the world’s ears. Kansas Leadership Center Journal.
- Shams, K. (2022, April 13). Book review: The citizen solutions. Staley School Blog Series (Loop).
- Shams, K. (2021, Dec 8). Leadership 911: Responsive practices for community development in Iran. Staley School of Leadership Blog Series (Loop).
Education
- Ph.D. in leadership communication, Kansas State University
- M.Sc. in regional planning, Shahid Beheshti University
- B.A. in urban planning and design, University of Tehran
- Dialogue, Deliberation, and Public Engagement Graduate Certificate, Kansas State University
- Qualitative Research Graduate Certificate, Kansas State University
More about me
I really enjoy walking, especially in historical cities to discover the urban legibility. I also love reading Molana’s (Rumi) poems and anecdotes.