First Doctorate of Organization Development and Change Students Graduate!

At BGSU's Schmidthorst College of Business, we are answering the call for innovative programs with a Doctorate in organization development and change (DODC), a three-year accelerated executive doctoral program specifically for busy professionals to achieve their goals without putting careers on hold This August, seven of the first cohort of students graduated from the program. We invite you to learn more with our new DODC program video and radio interview featuring program Director Steve Cady.

In his dissertation, Dr. Jordan D. Daugherty, village administrator for Whitehouse, Ohio, found citizens don't expect services to work perfectly; however, they do want to be treated with kindness, respect, and dignity. This is the key to building trust in government. After reading this, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio, wrote him saying, "Good article in the Blade. Thank you for your public service. We all have much to do to fix our country."

Career trajectories are improving even before graduation. Dr. Kelly Irene O'Brien secured a position as manager at Toledo's Department of Public Utilities. Tisha Duncan was hired by Citigroup as vice president of learning and development. Raynel Frazier was brought in by Chelsea Factory as a program producer. Dr. Jennifer Traxler left industry to become executive director and lecturer at Ohio University's Robert D. Walter Center for Strategic Leadership. Finally, Patrick Brown was hired as talent and organization lead at Accenture.

Many students are advancing their thought leadership as well. Cortney Smalley, talent acquisition manager for the Justice Department, describes how "six months after starting the program, I got a new job. I was able to apply a lot of the things in the classroom to the real world." His TEDx talk on "The Future Recruitment Industry – Appealing to Covid-Impacted Job Seekers," was key to advancing his professional brand. Similarly, Val Kaba, business banking relationship manager for JP Morgan Chase, gave a TEDx talk on "Changing Common Banking Practices in Low-Income Communities." In 2021, BGSU's own Jennifer McCary, chief diversity and belonging officer, was named by the Ohio Diversity & Leadership Conference as the Top Diversity Officer. These are only a few examples of the impact our students and graduates are having in serving their communities.