
When Jennifer Underwood ’04 graduated from Clemson with her electrical engineering degree, she left a forever Clemson fan. The atmosphere, football, Clemson Family and the beautiful campus made a lasting impact on both her and her husband, whom she married while at school.
Now, every few months, Underwood returns to campus, not only as a mom to her son, who is a first-year engineering major, but also as a student herself in the Executive Leadership Program at the Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business.
Although she does visit for football games, seeing campus from the eyes of a student when she comes to class is a completely different experience. But, even with new buildings and renovations, with new students and professors, the campus still has the same community feel as it did when she was here for her undergraduate degree. It’s because of this that Clemson is the only place she would have ever considered getting her doctorate from, and that opportunity presented itself one day as she was scrolling through her email.

“I never planned on getting a Ph.D., but when I saw the ad in Clemson’s alumni email, the program sounded interesting. I went to an info session and just began completing each step of the application process. Eventually, I decided to go for it, and everything worked out.”
Underwood was accepted into the first cohort of the program and has since learned a lot about the theories and strategies that go into her current job role. When she first began her career, Underwood started as a government civilian with the Navy in Charleston. Three years ago, she transitioned to SAIC due to her interest in digital engineering. Throughout her career, Underwood has taken on leadership roles, but after she received her master’s in 2014, she came into her first leadership position.
It was then that she realized that she was missing something. Because she didn’t have a business background, Underwood says this program has been even more valuable in helping her understand the “why” behind leadership and finding that missing piece she’d been looking for.

“One of the most challenging parts of the program at first was learning all the business content when coming in, but it has been very rewarding,” she explains. “It’s interesting to see the mix of theory and practice. Seeing the theories we learn about reflected in leadership decisions at my current job has given me insight into my own leadership style. That has definitely been my favorite part of the program.”
In addition to learning content, Underwood also has loved experiencing the research process. Being in the program has shown Underwood the value of quality research, especially as she works on her dissertation, which examines why a big animation company like Disney decided to adopt CGI.
“I am all about the word ‘change’. Even now, industries are trying to adapt to changes like AI,” she says. “My dissertation examines why companies choose to make changes and adapt. Specifically, I’m looking at how the animation industry adopted computer graphic imaging as animation, and how Disney, being the incumbent and having a large market share in the animation industry, didn’t necessarily need to adopt CGI, but they did.”
With her upcoming graduation in August, Underwood is looking forward to getting another Clemson degree.
“I love Clemson, and earning my doctorate here feels like coming full circle,” Underwood says. “Clemson shaped who I am, and it’s still shaping who I want to be.”
About the Executive Leadership Ph.D. Program
The Executive Leadership Ph.D. program within the Department of Management at Clemson’s Wilbur O. and Ann Powers College of Business is led by top researchers who deliver an innovative portfolio of courses to take applicant executive careers to the next level. Our unique program takes a “deep dive” into leadership to enable students to pursue a research agenda fueled by their interests in solving real issues and inspiring meaningful change.
The program takes an evidence-based approach to leadership with the intent to produce thought leaders who excel at intellectual, interpersonal and strategic pursuits in an ever-changing, multicultural environment. Graduates of the program are qualified for faculty positions in academic settings where they can share their knowledge with future business leaders. Additionally, graduates may return to the industry and utilize advanced research techniques to transform organizations and apply innovative solutions to complex business problems.
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