BMORENews founder Doni Glover reflects on his first year as a doctoral candidate at UMD’s Robert H. Smith School of Business — and the divine alignment that brought him there.
(COLLEGE PARK, Md. – March 7, 2026) — If I had to describe my experience in the Doctor of Business Administration program at the University of Maryland in a single word, that word would be: alignment.
From the very first day on campus at the Robert H. Smith School of Business, I knew God had opened a door no man could close. And I am grateful — deeply, profoundly grateful — for this opportunity.
“I can say most assuredly that God’s angels are all over the place.”
Straight A’s — and a Thirst to Learn
The results speak for themselves: two A-plusses and an A in my first semester. But honestly, the grades are secondary to what is happening inside the classroom and inside my mind.
I am thirsty to learn. I try to soak it all up like a sponge. We are deep in theory — reading mountains of papers, books, supplemental content, and working through challenges I did not anticipate. But what sustains me, beyond my own drive, is our cohort. It is loaded with top-notch students who genuinely help and support one another.
And the faculty? They are at the top of their games. Watching them publish in some of the world’s premier academic journals while simultaneously challenging us to do the same is deeply inspiring. There is a difference between telling your students to aim for publication and actually publishing yourself. These faculty members do both.
A Business School That Pushes You to Solve Real Problems
What I love most about Smith is this: they inspire you to solve real business problems. The academic environment — the experiments, the data collection, the number-crunching, the hypothesis development — is genuinely my sweet spot. I have spent 23 years running BMORENews as a business. Now I have the tools and the language to study what I have been living.
My dissertation research focuses on algorithmic precarity — how social media platforms systematically suppress content from publishers serving underrepresented communities. BMORENews is a primary case study. What I built over two decades, and what platforms have quietly dismantled, is the subject of serious academic inquiry. The academic setting is giving me the framework to prove what so many independent Black publishers have experienced but couldn’t fully articulate.
Standing on HBCU Shoulders
Since sharing updates on this journey, many of you have reached out to say you were inspired to return to school. I hear you. And I want to say clearly: it is never too late. I am a late bloomer compared to some. But God’s timing is not our timing. If you have credits sitting somewhere, there are plenty of institutions that will take them.
I also need to thank my HBCU professors at Morehouse, Coppin State, and Morgan State University. Black colleges gave me — and so many of us — a perfect place to learn, grow, and be seen. I would not be in College Park today without the foundation they built.
Gratitude Is the Posture
There are too many people to name who have helped me along the way — from university presidents to secretaries who made things happen quietly and consistently. Thank you. I do not take any of it for granted. I do my best to pay it forward daily.
To whom much is given, much is required. I carry that truth with me into every classroom, every research meeting, and every page I write.
Don’t ever give up. As long as there is life, there is hope.
Doni Glover is the founder and CEO of DMGlobal Marketing & Public Relations, LLC, which operates BMORENews.com — a 23-year-old independent digital media outlet serving Baltimore and underrepresented communities. He is a DBA candidate at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and hosts the Emmy-nominated Doni Glover Show on WMAR-TV 2.
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