UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Smeal College of Business alumnus Richard “Rick” Booth was teaching a case in Smeal’s executive MBA program when he first heard about the college’s plans to launch a new Executive Doctorate of Business Administration (DBA) Program in 2023.
“I immediately wanted to get involved in some way,” he said.
That desire led Rick and his wife, Brooke, to make a $125,000 commitment to create the Richard and Brooke Booth Executive DBA Graduate Scholarship. The annually funded scholarship will be structured to award more money for scholarships in the first several years of the program’s debut and taper off by the fifth year.
Brian Cameron, Smeal’s associate dean for professional graduate programs and executive education, said that by structuring the gift this way, Smeal’s Executive DBA program will be positioned to compete nationally for the best students as the program is getting established.
“Over the past several years, Smeal has been especially mindful of the changing needs of working professionals. Rick’s enthusiasm and support for this new and innovative degree program has been extraordinary, and I am grateful to him and Brooke for their philanthropic leadership,” Cameron said.
According to Dean Charles H. Whiteman, the Executive DBA program was an important next step in Smeal’s commitment to lifelong learning.
“No matter where you are in your professional career, Smeal has a program to fit your needs. The flexibility and rigor of the Executive DBA will appeal to the most senior-level leaders who are motivated to both enhance their knowledge and advance their careers. The Booths’ gift will be crucial to our efforts to launch and sustain the program, and I am grateful for their support,” he said.
Although Rick describes himself as being “passionate about education,” he said that when he was growing up on his family’s farm, he didn’t plan to go to college.
His mother convinced him to attend Penn State, where he originally planned to study exercise science and then begin a career teaching martial arts.
Instead, an introductory economics class piqued his interest in business. Attracted to the structured thinking and applied math required of accountants, Booth would go on to earn a bachelor’s in accounting in 1991 and subsequently begin his professional career at Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
After three years, he left to pursue an MBA at Stanford University.
He later earned a master’s in organizational development from American University and a master’s in taxation from Bentley University.
With more than 30 years of experience providing financial, strategic and operational leadership to rapidly growing global technology companies, Booth is currently chief financial officer at Definitive Healthcare, a firm dedicated to creating paths to commercial success in the health care market.
He is also an adjunct faculty member for several New England colleges and universities and an active volunteer at Smeal.
Brooke shares Rick’s passion for education. In addition to bachelor’s degrees in psychology and art history from Wellesley University, Brooke Booth has a master’s in social work from Boston College and a master’s of applied positive psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. A clinical social worker, she opened a private practice in Natick, Massachusetts, six years ago.
“Education has transformed our lives and it’s important to us both that we pay that forward to future generations,” they said. “By giving to a land grant institution, like Penn State, where so many programs may be on the margin as to what they are able to do, we know that that’s where we can make the biggest impact. We’re both excited for the launch of the Executive DBA Program next year and are thrilled to play a small part in how it comes together.”
Gifts to the Penn State Smeal College of Business will advance "A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence," a focused campaign that seeks to elevate Penn State’s position as a leading public university in a world defined by rapid change and global connections. With the support of alumni and friends, “A Greater Penn State” seeks to fulfill the three key imperatives of a 21st-century public university: keeping the doors to higher education open to hardworking students regardless of financial well-being; creating transformative experiences that go beyond the classroom; and impacting the world by serving communities and fueling discovery, innovation, and entrepreneurship. To learn more about “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence,” visit greaterpennstate.psu.edu.