The DM class of 2010 represents the 13th cohort of DM graduates; the total number of alumni now exceeds 160. What started as an innovative educational experiment back in 1995 has proved to be a sustainable success.
I truly believe the DM Program, now with an associated PhD option, represents the future of doctoral education in management. It addresses the need for management education beyond the MBA: a doctoral degree designed for the practicing executive rather than for the aspiring academic. It has been a surprise to us on the faculty that in spite of the program design, more than half of our graduates have ended up with various types of academic appointment. That outcome demonstrates that practically oriented scholarship is valued not only in the world of management practice but also in academia.
As the saying goes, "there is nothing more practical than good theory." The fact that the DM Program has had more student papers presented at the Academy of Management than any other doctoral program in the world during the last few years speaks volumes. It reflects positively upon the caliber and capabilities of our students, upon the value of truly transdisciplinary education and research that is rooted in problems of practice rather than academic disciplines, and upon the quality, relevance and rigor of the instruction provided. This is practitioner scholarship at its best.
Bo Carlsson, Professor of Economics at Weatherhead, is the former director of the DM Program
