Episode 054: From Practice to Scholarship: Doing Timely, High-Impact Research Through the DBA with Kimberly Bright

Episode 054: From Practice to Scholarship: Doing Timely, High-Impact Research Through the DBA with Kimberly Bright

From DBA Chronicles by Dr. Kelly Burich and Dr. Valrie Grant

March 11, 2026 · 40 min

About this episode

The episode discusses Kimberly Bright's journey from practice to scholarship in her DBA program, focusing on her research on Black Chief Diversity Officers in higher education.

Kimberly Bright is a Doctor of Business Administration candidate at the University of Rhode Island and a seasoned leader whose career spans public service, higher education leadership, strategic planning, and organizational change. Her work sits at the intersection of practice, policy, and scholarship, demonstrating the powerful role DBA research can play in addressing real-world challenges as they unfold. Holding a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government, Kimberlybrings a deeply practitioner-oriented lens to her doctoral research. Her study examines the lived experiences of Black Chief Diversity Officers in higher education, focusing on how race-based trauma, political pressures, and institutional dynamics influence leaders’ health, well-being, and intentions to remain in their roles. Conducted during a time of heightened scrutiny around higher education and diversity initiatives, Kimberly’s work reflects the core promise of the DBA: enabling experiencedprofessionals to translate lived expertise into rigorous scholarship that informs leadership, policy, and organizational practice in real time. But this episode is about more than a…

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