Doctoral Candidate Brochure: Kathryn A. Klonowski
Doctoral Dissertation Defense
of
Kathryn A. Klonowski
For the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
Cultural Foundations
"Ms. Fix It": The Unravelling, Recovery, and Evolution of a White Savior Scholastic Journalism Adviser
March 19, 2026
1:00 p.m.
Microsoft Teams
"Ms. Fix It": The Unravelling, Recovery, and Evolution of a White Savior Scholastic Journalism Adviser
This dissertation explores the process of how singular perceptions of inequities or problems are created based on an examination of personal formation and experience. In this case, the researcher uses her own education and development as a scholastic journalist turned adviser as the stage on which her unravelling as a "recovering White Savior" is examined.
Using Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN), stories are woven into a painfully clear tapestry of what can happen when the democratic aspects of voice and power are compromised in schools and classrooms. Throughout the thesis, there are difficult examinations of what it means to be both a scholar and an advocate, and the dangers of attempting to do both simultaneously. Comparing this phenomenon to a type of addiction or compulsion, a modified "12-Step" recovery concept takes on an educative role for the author. Evolution is then not confined to a static framework but to an ongoing effort.
The result is a collection of narrative reflections that provides a perspective on how those who might be tangled in a similar predicament whether as a scholastic journalism adviser or otherwise might find support through trust in a reflexive recovery process that affords the time and space necessary to mend.
第一吃瓜网 the Candidate
Kathryn A. Klonowski
M.Ed., Educational Technology, 2008
B.A., English, 1999
Kate is the Director of Strategic Collaborations in the Office of Local Government and Community Relations, which is part of the Office of the President at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, OH. In this role she is actively involved in facilitating sustainable and mutually beneficial relationships between the university and its adjacent residents, businesses, institutions, and leaders. By identifying and tracking these collaborations, facilitating advisory groups, and expanding access to resources and information, she supports community engagement priorities.
Her current research focus is on intersectionality of all kinds to better understand equitable relationships especially the establishment of mutual trust in American higher educational institutions based in urban areas. She also supports university efforts to assess the efficacy of its outreach and how their role in these interactions is perceived. In the future, she hopes to further apply and develop the lessons learned in her doctoral research.
Additional professional interests include relationship-building across every area of her native Cleveland, facilitating retreats for local community leadership, non-profit board service locally and nationally, mentoring recent graduates to encourage them to establish careers in the area, and working with like-minded advocates to address generational trauma.
Doctoral Dissertation Committee
Director
Natasha Levinson, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cultural Foundations
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Members
David Dees, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Cultural Foundations
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Jennifer Walton-Fisette, Ph.D.
Interim Associate Dean
College of Education, Health and Human Services
Graduate Faculty Representative
Mary Parr, Ph.D.
Professor, Recreation, Park and Tourism Management
School of Foundations, Leadership and Administration
College of Education, Health and Human Services