Legal status Non-profit Type of business Volunteer | Region served Worldwide Main organ Board of directors | |
Purpose Promote executive doctoral programs Chairperson Lars Mathiassen, Georgia State University Similar Northwestern Polytechnic University, Distance Education Accreditin, Rollins College | ||
The Executive DBA Council (EDBAC) is a global volunteer organization that focuses on executive doctoral programs and their issues. The group's posted mission is "...to provide outstanding networking and educational opportunities for professionals who serve and participate in executive doctoral degree programs." The group states on its website that it is the only global organization of its kind.
Contents
History
The EDBAC was founded in 2011 to promote the DBA degree as a business or executive qualification, rather than an academic qualification, such as a PhD. The group held its first meeting at Case Western Reserve University in June 2011.
DBA versus PhD
The DBA and PhD both focus on developing an individual's research skills, but the PhD is designed to prepare individuals for academic careers. The DBA is intended to prepare students for a research career in business. An executive qualification such as a DBA is also called a practitioner degree.
Membership
The EDBAC offers membership to accredited, not-for-profit public or private institutions of higher learning that offer a doctoral program for executives or are considering doing so. As of January 2016, there were 48 member schools, including Benedictine University, Case Western Reserve University, City University of Hong Kong, Copenhagen Business School, Cranfield University, ESC Rennes School of Business, Georgia State University, Manchester University, Oklahoma State University, Paris Dauphine University, Rollins College, Temple University, University of Florida and University of Reading.
Organization structure
The EDBAC has a board consisting of a chairperson and ten other members, of which two are program alumni. Lars Mathiassen, Co-Founder of the Center for Process Innovation at Georgia State University, is the current chairperson.
Events
The Executive DBA Council sponsors and organizes an Annual Engaged Management Scholarship (EMS) Conference where current students and alumni of member programs present peer-reviewed research. The sixth annual conference was held in Paris, France in September 2016. The 2017 conference is scheduled for Tampa, Florida in September 2017.