Excelsior’s DBA Leadership Team: Dr. Brian Allen
Brian Allen’s work has taken him across 48 U.S. states and 38 countries. With a Doctor of Business Administration in technology entrepreneurship, a Master of Business Administration, and a Master of Project Management, Allen has built a career leading projects, operations, and technology initiatives in industries from IT and e-commerce to renewable energy, telecommunications, and international business. He has taught business at Southern New Hampshire University, Brigham Young University-Idaho, Northcentral University, and National University, and he now brings his boardroom experience and real-world perspective to his role as dean of Excelsior University’s School of Business.
Here, Allen reveals his vision for Excelsior’s new Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) program, including how students can expect their careers to change upon graduation.
What is your vision for Excelsior’s DBA program? What sets it apart?
Allen: The vision for the DBA program is rooted in who Excelsior University is and has been historically. Excelsior has been a leader in accepting transfer credits in service of adult learners, with deep roots in meeting workforce needs with applied learning. Students coming from diverse backgrounds and with credits from several institutions have enrolled with Excelsior to enhance their credentials and complete up to the master’s level.
The DBA is the expansion of Excelsior’s mission, as it will allow those who have completed a graduate degree to take their diverse experience and hone those skills to become a scholar-practitioner. The person seeking to be a scholar-practitioner is someone who has developed business work and educational skills and now wants to merge those with rigorous scholarly research, data analysis, and refined real-world problem-solving.
What sets Excelsior University’s Doctor of Business Administration program apart from other DBA programs is that we have documented and proven experience of working with applied learning, which is in line with what a DBA is all about. We don’t have to speak about the theoretical or aspirational impact of our educational philosophy; our graduates are already change agents solving real-world problems. The DBA is an extension of that history being projected into a promising future.
How has your experience shaped the way you lead this program?
Allen: Experience is a funny thing. You get experience by being willing to take chances and extending yourself. Sometimes, you fail in what you try, but if you keep at it, you can ultimately succeed.
I chose to complete a DBA because I wanted to solve real-world problems, period. Although I love theory and see the value in assessing different ideas, the DBA offered me what I wanted most. I wanted to be a thought leader, merging scholarly research with practice, policy, and applied knowledge to solve problems. That outlook informs how we are shaping the DBA program here at Excelsior.
We have a strong leadership team dedicated to and focused on those objectives with a unified voice. Leading Excelsior’s DBA program is about empowering our students to find their own reasons for solving real-world problems by becoming scholar-practitioners.
What does a successful DBA student look like?
Allen: There is no one single image or profile that defines a successful DBA student. However, there are some foundations and behaviors that are strong indicators of success.
Foundationally, DBA students need experience working in business. This can be in myriad areas, including but not limited to organizational leadership, management, logistics, accounting, and entrepreneurship. A student’s undergraduate and graduate degrees do not necessarily need to be in business, but it does help. Beyond academics, students need personal experience in business leadership, management, and/or project management where they utilize and live business language and concepts.
The behaviors of a successful DBA student are far more important than a business background. Success in a DBA (or any doctoral) program isn’t about raw intelligence. More than anything else, success is about consistency and discipline over a long period of time. The students who finish—and finish strong—tend to operate very differently than those who stall out. The core behaviors that actually predict success are discipline over inspiration (research and write at a regular cadence), progress over perfection (embrace the ugly draft and revise as needed), resilience over comfort (self-regulate under pressure), and the ability to receive feedback without ego (accept that ideas and writing can be challenged without it being a reflection of character).
What would you say to someone wondering whether Excelsior’s DBA program is the right investment for their future?
Allen: A Doctor of Business Administration is not an immediate, guaranteed salary multiplier; a fast career shortcut; or a casual extension of an MBA. Investing your time to complete a DBA is a multiyear commitment in disciplined thinking and action. It will require a transformation in how you approach problems. A DBA is a credential that signals you can operate at the highest level of applied rigor wearing the hats of both a scholar and a practitioner. If you’re looking for an immediate ROI, there are often faster, cheaper paths.
However, if you’re looking for long-term positioning and an identity shift for yourself, then the calculus changes. A DBA is the right choice if you can say any of the following about yourself:
- “I want to operate at a higher level of thinking, not just doing.”
- “I’m willing to commit consistent time for several years.”
- “I care about contributing something meaningful to my field.”
- “I can leverage this degree in my current or next role and not just someday.”
The bottom line is that a DBA is not a transactional investment; it’s a transformational one. Generally, it doesn’t just change what you know; it changes how you think, lead, and contribute. For the right person, at the right stage, and with the right intent, a DBA is one of the most powerful professional investments available. This degree will help you take your existing business and leadership skills and multiply their effectiveness by adding the development of rigorous academic research skills. This is what it means to be a scholar-practitioner.
Making a personal investment by earning your DBA can open opportunities for having greater career options and earning more. However, if you disagree with any of the reasons noted above, a DBA just becomes an expensive distraction.
What can graduates of Excelsior University’s DBA program look forward to in their careers?
Allen: An Excelsior DBA graduate can truly look forward to a shift in professional identity, moving from operator to strategist and from experience-based decisions to becoming an evidence-based decision-maker. Program alumni will move from being consumers of knowledge to being contributors of knowledge, solving real-world problems.
The results of that transformation could include advancement into high-level leadership roles, increased credibility and influence, and expanded career pathways (not just promotions). Excelsior DBA graduates prepare themselves to move from execution to greater involvement in strategy. Our program strengthens students’ ability to operate at the why and how level of business, not just the what. Consequently, graduates become career and opportunity creators who develop their own career paths.
