From executive to educator: DBA graduate plans pivot to teaching at Penn State

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — After two decades in international business, finance and education — and raising two children with his spouse, Bonnie — Mauricio Maldonado decided it was time to pursue another of his passions. He knew he wanted to earn a doctorate in business administration, a program which he felt would allow him to combine his business expertise with his love of academia. What he didn’t know was where he would study.

One day while mulling his options, Maldonado stopped on the street in his home country of Bolivia to talk with a friend. A woman walked by in a Penn State T-shirt.

A few weeks later, still in Bolivia, Maldonado spotted a car sporting a Penn State sticker.

“And so, I said, ‘Something is happening here,’” he recalled.

Three years later, Maldonado is a member of the first-ever cohort graduating from the Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) program at Penn State's Smeal College of Business. He passed his final oral defense on April 15.

Smeal’s DBA program is designed specifically for senior-level business leaders and decision makers.

“At this level, the reason why we are enrolling in this type of program is because we want to learn more and we want to apply it somehow,” Maldonado said.

The DBA path is set up so that students tailor their classes and can take multiple electives, which allowed Maldonado to concurrently earn a master’s degree in enterprise architecture and business transformation (his fourth master’s degree, by the way). Students can also stack graduate certificates into their DBA course of study, adding to the program’s extreme flexibility.

Classes are hybrid with one week in-person on campus residencies at the beginning of each semester and live virtual sessions every other weekend. Maldonado started the program while he still lived in Bolivia but moved to the State College area with his wife in 2025 to transition to full-time and work as an adjunct professor.

Smeal sets the standard

While a doctor of philosophy degree, or Ph.D., most often leads to a career in research, the DBA is a professional doctorate program geared toward those who will continue in executive roles.

“They tend to have over 20 years of experience, and they come into this setting to learn how to conduct academic research that underpins problem solving and decision making within their business, or within their arena,” said Jeanette Miller, faculty director for Smeal’s DBA program.

Maldonado’s doctoral culminating research project focuses on sustainability subsidies and how they impact business risk. Examples of other research among his cohort include soldier retention in the U.S. Army, stress behavior in business leaders, boomerang employees, and the underrepresentation of Black women in tech leadership roles.

The virtual classes are broadcast live from Smeal’s own teaching studio, in a synchronous method that allows real-time interaction between the instructors and students, some of whom are as far away as Kenya or Qatar.

“We have this global program because the technology allows us to do that and bring these people from all around the world to work and learn together,” said Stephen Humphrey, the Alvin H. Clemens Professor of Management and Organization.

Miller pointed out that the international reach, which wasn’t planned or anticipated when the program started, helps to diversify thought and perspective in the program.

“What an incredible opportunity to have different cultures and different individuals represented,” she said.

Two other cohorts are working toward their DBAs, and the fourth will start later this year.

Humphrey recalls leading the charge to start the program at Smeal a decade ago. Today, it sets the example, he said.

“Now that we have had tremendous success in this space, many other Big Ten schools are getting ready to launch DBA programs and following our lead. So, we're being copied in the marketplace,” said Brian Cameron, associate dean for professional graduate programs and executive education at the Smeal College of Business.

The road to Smeal

The series of fortunate coincidences that led Maldonado to Smeal started with research on the member list of the Executive DBA Council. The council, of which Miller is president, promotes excellence and innovation in DBA programs worldwide. Maldonado was already familiar with Penn State thanks to the University's reputation and a connection to a Smeal alumnus who served as a mentor during Maldonado’s previous studies at Loyola University Maryland.

“Penn State has a very nice phrase which is ‘We are Penn State.’ So, that's the sense of community and that's what I feel,” Maldonado said. “As a community, everybody is supported, everybody is trying to help you. If you have any needs, they try to give you a solution for that.”

Maldonado, who ran a textile business in Bolivia, said he appreciates the opportunity to work as a team and gain feedback from his classmates.

“You are talking with people that are at your same level and have a lot of other types of experiences from other industries,” Maldonado said. “So, capturing all those ideas can add value to your own research.”

The group both pushes and learns from each other, he added.

“One of the most important lessons I’ve gained from the DBA program is a commitment to excellence, consistently striving to produce high-quality work and pushing myself beyond my comfort zone,” Maldonado said. “The program sets a high standard, and it reinforces the mindset of always doing your best, regardless of the challenge.”

Doubling down on a passion to learn and teach

Humphrey and Miller both said Maldonado is a "perfect fit" for the program.

“Mauricio epitomizes the lifelong learner idea, and I think that's what you need to be a DBA student,” Humphrey said. “You have to be a lifelong learner. You have to continue to want to grow. He loves learning, he loves challenging himself.”

He is also a bit of an outlier in the DBA program since he plans to pivot to a career in academia after more than two decades in the corporate world.

“I would really like to do what is my passion, and my passion is teaching,” Maldonado said.

He said he picked the DBA specifically because it bridges the gap between academic theory and applied practice.

“The DBA is offering you so many things, and your challenge is to decide what you want to do,” Maldonado said.

“And what I see is that Penn State is growing. It's always improving, always trying to make everything better and better and better. It's a continuous improvement philosophy and I love that.”