Editors Note: The print version of this story published on August 14th erroneously headlined it as, ‘Ph.D. in global business added.’. This version has been updated to include the right headline ‘Ph.D. in global leadership added.’ The Tropolitan apologizes for this error and will be re-printing this story with the correct headline and redaction in the next issue of our paper.
Daisy Leng
Contributor
Troy University has received approval from the Alabama Commission of Higher Education (ACHE) to offer a new Ph.D. in Global Leadership.It is the third doctoral program approved by ACHE at Troy University, which was developed by the College of Education, specifically in the Department of Constructional Leadership.
“It’s a program that has been designed to offer individuals who have an interest in expanding their understanding of organizational leadership to achieve this Ph.D,” said Lance Tatum, the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs.
Tatum said the level Troy University is at right now allowed it to offer up to three Ph.D. programs. The Ph.D. in Global Leadership joins the Doctor of Nursing Practice and the Doctor of Philosophy in Sport Management degrees.
“The College of Education serves as the founding college for Troy University,” Tatum said. “Troy started out as a normal school in 1887, so we’ve been preparing teachers for the state of Alabama and the South for a long time.”
Dionne Rosser-Mins, the Dean of the College of Education, said all programs in Alabama’s universities can receive approval. The first level is approved by ACHE, so she was pleased with the approval for this body to allow them to offer the Ph.D. program in Global Leadership.
“The unique feature of this program is it’s a fully online program, which will afford students the opportunity to complete the degree wherever they are on their own terms,” Rosser-Mims said. “We received really good feedback from individuals who helped us to get this proposal together to present.”
Tatum said the program is designed for some individuals who want the terminal degree to help them for promotion purposes. The type of students who are affected by this project are broad.
“It really is designed for people who are looking to connect in areas of education, public policy, even business, so it’s a pretty wide array of students,” said Tatum.
“Individuals who might aspire to professor role at a higher education or institution if they wish to teach, this would afford them an opportunity to do so,” Rosser-Mims said. “In the program of perspective, students are expected to hold a master’s degree and it can be in any particular discipline.
“However, the five specializations that we offer, if a student has a master’s degree, for example, in Instructional Administration, Strategic Communication, Public Administration, Coursework in Higher Education Administration and Organizational Leadership, she would be able to transfer in some of the master’s level coursework into the doctoral level program. So, there is some benefit in having or holding a master’s degree with some course work in the areas of specialization that we will offer through this program.”
Tatum said he expected this new doctoral program to be offered in the fall semester of 2020.
When it comes to what other Ph.D. degree programs Troy University might be able to offer, Rosser-Mims said it is driven by market need and relevance.
“I particularly am excited about the future opportunity to offer additional doctorates, or doctoral programs at this university. It really will rest on what the market needs, and we’ll be poised to respond accordingly.”
