Building Ignatian Values into a Collaborative Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) Program

Demographic and market conditions have resulted in severe shortages of terminal degree-holding candidates for faculty appointments at many AACSB- accredited institutions, including those sponsored by the Jesuits (Boyle, Carpenter & Hermanson, 2015). In response, the AACSB has encouraged business schools to think more creatively about doctoral education. A number of universities, including Creighton University, decided to enter this new, more broadly defined market. With the support of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) business deans and faculty, Creighton developed a collaborative, Ignati- an-centered (IC) doctoral program in business administration (DBA), which will be referred to as the IC-DBA. This paper describes the history of the DBA degree and provides a brief overview of Creighton’s new doctoral program. The paper then discusses in detail how Ignatian values became central to the program through the development and implementation of a new course sequence, Ignatian Reflection and Formation. This mission-centered approach, along with the collaboration of a variety of Jesuit network business school faculty, is unique to the new DBA and, as such, allows the program to differentiate itself in the market place. The paper concludes with a reflection on the successes and challenges experienced to date of incorporating Ignatian Reflection and Formation in a DBA program.