A veteran of the United States Navy and a seasoned business professional, Dennis Nichols ’05 MBA is a believer in lifelong learning. He had the opportunity to earn his Master of Business Administration degree from Olivet Nazarene University while he was the Operations, Process Improvement and Quality Leader for Armstrong World Industries in Kankakee.
When he began thinking about pursuing a doctorate degree, Olivet rose to the surface at the right time and for the right reasons in his life.
“Our family’s roots are in Nebraska and South Dakota,” Dennis says. “I have visited all 50 U.S. states and have lived in 6 of them. With my current job as Senior Consultant, Enterprise Operational Risk, we are located in Bennington, Nebraska. Olivet’s online Ed.D. program made it possible for me to be an Olivet student again.”
How It All Began
When Dennis met with an admissions counselor and some of the Olivet staff before enrolling in the Ed.D. program, they made him aware of what it means to go “all in” for an Ed.D. degree. “They did a good job of making it clear that my success in the program would require hard work and sacrifice,” he says. “They also told me that the support of my family was important for my success.”
Before enrolling, Dennis sat down with his wife and his teenaged son still living at home and shared his desire to enroll in Olivet’s program. He explained that he would probably have to forego date nights, family nights, hobbies and many other activities — even sleep sometimes — to get his coursework done and do it well.
He also met with his company’s Human Resources department to get his company’s commitment for him to take on this educational challenge. He knew that to succeed in the program, he would be putting in well over 30 hours each week on classes and coursework. “Company policy is to do my schoolwork outside of my regular work hours,” he says. “I’m not a procrastinator, but I knew I would have to be very disciplined to keep both schedules.”
Dennis received approval to pursue this advanced degree and also to focus his dissertation on allyship in the workplace. And not surprisingly, all this had to be done outside of his work hours.
Everyone told him to go ahead and go all in. So he did!
How It All Developed
Dennis enrolled and began his Ed.D. program in 2023. Even before enrolling, he knew that he wanted allyship to be his dissertation topic. His working definition of allyship is to support anyone who may be in need, including protected classes such as elderly, females, people with disabilities, and disadvantaged groups.
“I’ve always been a super-focused person, and I had no doubts that I’d be able to get through the program,” Dennis says. “Every class I take, everything I read, I tie to my topic of allyship. That is helping me to stay focused and maximize my effort toward the dissertation.”
Dennis appreciates the opportunities he has to meet people from different locations and careers in his cohort. “I enjoy getting to see a variety of perspectives as we share, compare and contrast ideas together,” he says. “One of the students in our cohort is from India.”
He also credits his professors — especially Dr. Jonathan Pickering ’92/’97 MBA, Dr. Kelly Brown ’92 and Dr. Houston Thompson — for the phenomenal learning experience they have helped provide for him in this program. One of the most surprising aspects of the program for him is the intrigue of the Qualitative/Quantitative approaches to research and the depth to which he has been able to submerge himself in his research.
“Allyship in Action: Promoting and Supporting Employee Allyship in Insurance and Finance” is the title of Dennis’ dissertation. He has conducted a lot of empirical research in several industries and communities — and even on college campuses — across the U.S. His employer has 7 employee-led business resource groups. As part of his research, Dennis utilized them for taking an anonymous survey.
How It All Continues
Dennis has recently discovered that there are only two other people with doctorate degrees, other than medical doctors and attorneys, employed by his company. “I believe that ethical leadership is a paramount need in the insurance and finance sectors,” he says. “We are dealing with confidential, personal information all the time. People who are serving in these areas must be not only well-educated, but also must be ethical leaders. Having my Ed.D. degree will be helpful for me and for my company.”
Through this educational experience and the work on his dissertation, Dennis has grown both personally and professionally. “I now have much more knowledge and a deeper understanding of allyship,” he says. “I’m a stronger leader in my role of supporting veterans and allies in my workplace. The Ed.D. experience at Olivet has given me a much broader viewpoint of so many different perspectives. I believe this contributes to the ‘human experience’ of my work. That means working with an understanding that inclusion and belonging for everyone is mission critical.”
Learn more about Olivet Nazarene University’s graduate degree programs at Olivet.edu/academics/graduate-programs. For more information or to enroll, email onlineadmissions@olivet.edu or call 877-465-4838.
