Zachary Wooten

Zachary Wooten
  • Associate Professor of Leadership Studies
  • Department: Honors College
  • Research Cluster: History, Philosophy, Political Science & Law
  • Institution: West Chester University of Pennsylvania
  • Email: ZWOOTEN@wcupa.edu

Education

  • Alvernia University, Ph.D. in Leadership Princeton Theological Seminary, M.Div. West Chester University of Pennsylvania, B.A. Communication Studies

Research Interests

visions of human flourishing, grief, interfaith leadershipethicsmoral choicecrisis leadershipself-awareness, spirituality, TikTok, religious studies

Opportunities

Work Study Positions Available: Yes

Interfaith Leadership Fellows, Honors College, Minor in Civic and Professional Leadership

Grant Funded Positions Available: No

Course-Credit Research Opportunities Available: No

Volunteer Research Positions Available: No

Open to Faculty Mentoring: Yes

Biography

Teaching in the Honors College at WCU is one of the greatest joys of my life. I am thankful to learn from both my colleagues and students, and I am glad to belong to a community committed to leadership, service, scholarship, and civic engagement. My teaching, research, and other scholarly inquiry focuses on interfaith leadership, ethics and moral decision-making, grief and crisis leadership, self-awareness and development, visions of human flourishing, and leadership theory. I love helping students develop confidence and cheering them on as they work to strengthen their communities. I also teach religious studies courses for the Department of Philosophy and serve as the Director for WCU's Interfaith, Meaning-Making, and Spirituality Project. I am currently leading three grant-funded research projects exploring: 1) religious leadership on TikTok; 2) interfaith leadership amongst hospital chaplains during the COVID-19 pandemic; and 3) the grief experiences of undergraduate students considering the climate crisis. I serve on WCU's Undergraduate Research Council, the Council for Diversity, Inclusion and Academic Excellence, and the project planning team for Yale's Center for Faith and Culture related to expanding the "Life Worth Living" network.

Contact Information

Phone: 717-484-9243

List of Publications

  • Wooten, Z., Pierlott, M., & Gittleson, E. (2024). Regina Jonas: a life of aspiration and inspiration. Journal of Leadership Education. Wooten, Zachary C. (2023) Personhood Within the Tragic Gap: Between Reality and Possibility in Book: Exploring Personhood in Contemporary Times: From Leadership to Philosophy Pages 113-120 Publisher: Info Age Publishing Wooten, Z. C., & McDevitt, H. (2022). COVID-19 AND THE ETHICS OF GRIEF AND LOSS. Ethical Implications of COVID-19 Management: Evaluating the Aftershock, 89. Wooten, Z. C. (2022). The Aim of Leadership Education: Spirituality and the Writings of Parker J. Palmer. Alvernia University.

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