Commencement 2004

(Left to right) Joel D. Haines, William B. Townsend, James R. Malm, Patrcia D. Wolf, Christopher P. Strasser, Deborah M. Wharff.

New UMUC Doctors Better Prepared for Real World—of Work

By Andrea Martino

UMUC’s new Doctor of Management (DM) program (the first in the state’s history, according to the Maryland Higher Education Commission) will better prepare graduates for the real world—of work.

The DM program at UMUC is one of only a few nationwide and is considered by many to be more valuable than a typical PhD because of the DM’s interdisciplinary approach to management, rather than a concentration on one particular area.

“It is appropriate that UMUC would be an innovator in the field of doctoral education for adults in the workforce,” said the University’s Provost and Chief Academic Officer Nicholas Allen. “We have specialized in serving adults for more than 50 years and the DM is based on the practical application of research to real world situations.”

UMUC faculty tout the milestone in the University’s history, which comes as the UMUC Graduate School is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

“This is a superlative achievement for UMUC, as well as for these first DM graduates,” said Milton Grodsky, founding dean of the UMUC Graduate School. “This is a program that has been ‘in the making’ for more than a decade, and thanks to our diligence to benefit the UMUC student body, it is a fait accompli. In a way, all of UMUC’s graduate faculty and every staff member who supports graduate students felt they crossed the commencement stage with the DM graduates, as well.”

According to Grodsky, the DM differs from a typical doctoral program because PhD programs focus very strongly on one area of study and do not necessarily emphasize how that function interrelates with others at modern organizations. For that reason, the DM’s more applied focus, rather than a research-oriented one, is slowly making its way into existing doctoral programs.

The DM program is said to be “just what the doctors ordered,” as more and more studies show that doctoral students are not all that pleased with their programs. According to a study by the National Association of Graduate-Professional Students, for example, only slightly more than half of all respondents believed their doctoral programs prepared them for nonacademic careers.

James R. Malm, an Orkand Fellow in the program who is among the first DM graduates, is employed at the Community College of Baltimore County as chief administrative officer of continuing education and economic development. His dissertation: “Six Maryland Community College Presidents: Organizational Challenges, Change Processes, and Leadership Approaches.”

“Leading organizational change is among the most important and challenging of leadership responsibilities today,” said Malm, of Woodstock, Maryland. “To effect change, you need to understand clearly the relationship of all the functions at your organization, not just one. The DM program was invaluable in helping me to see that big picture early on, so at CCBC I became a more valuable contributor early in my program. A regular PhD wouldn’t have been as practical—or as useful to me in my career as an administrator.”

In addition to his new degree, Malm received another honor in the DM program. In 2002, he was one of two DM students chosen as Orkand Fellows, named for Donald Orkand, founder of the Orkand Corp. and, most recently, DC Ventures and Associates. For the honor, Malm received $15,000 toward his tuition at UMUC.