A Look Back at The PhD Project’s 2023
What a year 2023 has been. Through the challenges and milestone moments, The PhD Project family has been able to shine a light on the importance of our community and mission. Your continued support – whether it’s through gifts of your time, talent or treasure – is what has enabled The Project to thrive over the last 29 years and set the stage for us to evolve and continue to make a societal impact.
Thank you for a great year – we could not have accomplished any of this without your support. Please consider The PhD Project in your year-end donations: https://phdproject.org/donate/.
Here’s what your giving empowered us to accomplish this year:
January: We announced that The PhD Project expanded its criteria to include Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients.
We also launched our advisory council, the PAC-15, who serve as the collective “voice” of our members.
February: In honor of Black History Month, I interviewed PhD Project member Dr. Roderick L. Lee, and we highlighted the incredible work of our Black/African American members.
March: Our team attended the Business School Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Collaborative annual conference where PhD Project Senior Director, Tara Perino, received the Bernard J. Milano Champion for Change Award and PhD Project member, Dr. Cynthia Turner, received the Kenneth Bouyer – Difference Maker in Diversity Award.
We celebrated Women’s History Month by spotlighting our female members including PhD Project member Dr. Laquita Blockson.
Lastly, we moved our annual conference to March to provide attendees more time to apply for doctoral programs.
April: PhD Project members Dr. Jerome Stewart and Dr. Verónica Caridad Rabelo joined Executive Director of The White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics, Melody Gonzales, for a webinar addressing the future of DEI.
May: We launched “But First, The Trailhead" – a new Accounting, Finance/Economics, Information Systems & Sciences Academic Virtual Speaker Series where faculty members discuss what led them to pursue a doctoral degree, the evolution of their research interests and their life as a professor.
June:?Our team joined forces with our partner Fordham University to host the inaugural ESG workshop.
We opened a new online Forum where PhD Project members can connect and collaborate.
Deeply disheartened by the Supreme Court ruling, we sent out this statement affirming our commitment to our mission. If our team can help you – or you know of an institution or academic professional in need of a community like ours, please reach out. We are here to provide support as we all navigate what’s next.
July: We appointed the new chair of our Board of Directors, Alfonzo Alexander, who serves as chief ethics and diversity officer of our Corporate Partner National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA). We are thrilled to have him in this leadership position.
We hosted the eighth annual 2023 PhD Project Aspiring Leaders Seminar, a collaboration between The PhD Project and our Founding Partner AACSB.
We closed out the month by sponsoring the Tenure Project, which addresses the important issues affecting junior faculty obtaining tenure in business schools.
August: PhD Project member Dr. Margarita Lenk spoke with Colorado 9News about The PhD Project’s mission, how we are making a difference in business and society, and why you should get involved.
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The PhD Project family also welcomed three new inductees into our Hall of Fame: Dr. Sonya Grier, Dr. Laquita Blockson and Dr. Theresa Hammond!
Throughout the month, we hosted four Doctoral Student Association (DSA) conferences. These meetings enable our members to network and learn from one another. Plus, we were able to cap 41 PhD Project faculty members!
September: We kicked off Hispanic Heritage Month on Sept. 15 by spotlighting our Latinx/Hispanic American members including Dr. Juan Manuel Sanchez and Dr. Mariana Lebrón and ways they are helping the next generation of leaders.
October: Kevin E. Price of our Corporate Partner FORVIS joined our Board of Directors, and we are grateful for his leadership.
We launched our new speaker series “Why I Did a PhD in Marketing” where faculty members explain their academic journey and the marketing topics they are doing research on.
Dr. Mauricio Mercado was named as our Dr. Seis, which means we’ve officially sextupled the number of historically underrepresented business PhDs in the United States from 294 professors in 1994 to 1,764 today.
November: In November, we celebrated Native American Heritage Month by highlighting our amazing members, including Dr. Deanna Kennedy – the second Native American female from The PhD Project to become dean of a business school. Additionally, Dr. Clinton Purtell spoke with me about his heritage as a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, what sparked his desire to earn a PhD, and his current research.
Al Renshaw of our Founding Partner AACSB joined our Board of Directors, and we are grateful for his leadership.
December: We’re celebrating our accomplishments and getting ready to kick off our 30th anniversary next year! Stay tuned for more details in January.
Happy 2024!
Retired former President at KPMG Foundation and The PhD Project
1 年Well done!!!