Degree debut: Spears kicks off new DBA program

Degree debut: Spears kicks off new DBA program

Friday, November 1, 2024

Media Contact: Terry Tush | Director of Marketing & Communications | 405-744-2703 | [email protected]

Thirteen years ago, the Spears School of Business entered groundbreaking territory with the launch of the first program for executive development in the United States.

The Ph.D. in Business for Executives has been a success since 2012, graduating 92 individuals from the United States and worldwide, including the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico and Canada.

In 2024, Spears Business added to its executive education by introducing a Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). The DBA is designed to develop innovative, evidence-based leaders by applying traditional research methods to create strategic business solutions. The Spears Business DBA focuses on applied research for individuals who want to contribute to practice, while the school's Executive Ph.D. (EPhD) focuses on scholarly research with the goal of entering academia.

"OSU's EPhD program has evolved over the years to place a higher emphasis on theoretical academic research, creating room for a DBA which is bent more toward solving complex problems in the business world and improving outcomes," said Dr. Stephanie Royce, director of Executive Doctoral Programs for Spears Business and a 2019 graduate of the EPhD program. "If you want to differentiate yourself in business as a leader, you need a DBA."

The residency-based program is tailored to working professionals and can be completed in a little over three years (10 semesters including summers).

The first DBA cohort is a diverse group of six individuals, including Tyler Stansell, an entrepreneur from Lubbock, Texas. He jumped at the opportunity to enroll in the program.

"They always say, if you find yourself in a room and you're the smartest person there, maybe you need to find a different room," said Stansell, owner/operator of Tyler Stansell Health Solution and the Llano Cubano Food Truck. "I can tell you that was not the case in Stillwater, Oklahoma (when the OSU DBA cohort met for the first time in August). Every one of these individuals challenged me, and I love that."

In addition to Stansell, the cohort also includes:

• Linette Factor, director of business affairs, College of the Muscogee Nation, Okmulgee, Oklahoma;
• James Morford, owner and president, VertiPrime Enterprises, Newcastle, Oklahoma;
• Bob Morgan, adjunct lecturer, Baylor University, Woodway, Texas;
• Farshad Rabib, senior specialty engineer, BI&A, Huntsville, Alabama;
• Jacquelin Walsh, branch operations/OAO specialist, Amarillo National Bank, Canyon, Texas.

Stansell earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from Texas Tech University and never envisioned pursuing a doctorate degree. But the self-described lifelong learner said he is looking forward to traveling to Stillwater once a month for the next three years as he learns how to grow his businesses.

"What I hope to get out of it is a better understanding of just how to be the best business owner I can be," he said. "I feel like I'm doing a pretty solid job running my businesses, but at this DBA level, it's almost more about learning about the people that you manage and work with than the actual business strategies, because the people are the most valuable asset to a company."

While there are only a handful of executive Ph.D. programs in the United States, the DBA is becoming more prevalent and is now offered by many universities, including OSU.

"The timing is right for us to provide a DBA," Royce said. "There is a growing market for professionals who want a doctorate, but the type of research they are interested in doing is more applied and geared toward business. They want to utilize the knowledge and skills that they've learned to solve industry problems and grow their business, while those earning a Ph.D. generally transition to academia.

"We are targeting Oklahoma-based business leaders and OSU alumni who might be interested in pursuing a terminal degree so that we can help Oklahoma businesses grow and contribute to the economic development of our state."

Learn more about the DBA program on the Spears Business website.

Photo by: Devin Flores
Story by: Terry Tush | Discover@Spears Magazine

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