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COLLECTION Identifier: Arch AA 1.2

Office of the Dean subject files

Overview

Records from the Office of the Dean at HBS include course and campus development, committee work, degree applications, faculty information, correspondence and employment statistics. Also included are records from the Harvard Business Review and the Business Historical Society.

Dates

  • Creation: 1907-1955

Creator

Language of Materials

Materials entirely in English.

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research. Materials stored onsite. This collection requires a secondary registration form. Please contact specialcollectionsref@hbs.edu for more information on access procedures and reproduction services.

Extent

19.75 linear feet (48 boxes)

This collection documents the growth and development of Harvard Business School from its founding in 1908 to the resignation of Dean Donald David in 1955. Of particular interest is the overall evolution of the school and curriculum as it established itself within the Harvard community and how the business school program/curriculum was adjusted to reflect various social and political events such as the Depression, World War II and the post-war economy.

Important developments chronicled in the collection include the construction of new buildings at the Allston campus, such as the Dean's House, various dormitories, Morgan Hall, Glass Hall and the HBS post office; the work of various faculty committees, including the Social Science Research Council and the committees for Economic Development, Educational Policy, and the Latin American Intellectual Cooperation; the origins of Kress Library of Business Economics at Baker Library; and the birth of the case method at HBS. The collection also details the increased diversity of courses offered at HBS over the years, employment statistics and psychological testing for students, publicity, research, degree applications, and the administration of faculty and their travels, as HBS sought to build a national network for student and employment recruitment.

World War II forced the School to suspend all classes for two year (1942-1945) and to make drastic changes to the curriculum in addition to obtaining draft deferments for their students. The altered curriculum included courses specifically aimed at training men to work in an economy driven by the war effort. The development and evolution of the HBS curriculum is documented by the numerous letters and memorandum among professors and the administration in Boxes 9-18. Of particular interest in this section are materials relating to the first required courses at HBS: Accounting, Commercial Contracts and Economic Resources of the United States.

Additional materials of interest include "Bouquet Letters" which are letters to the School by either graduates or employers commenting on the quality of education and experience at HBS, overall preparedness for future employment, loan repayment agreements and other general comments and criticisms of the School. Although these letters comprise a small portion of the collection they offer great insight into the development of curriculum, the experience of students and HBS's relationship with the business community. Also included in the collection are various articles and correspondence concerning people impersonating HBS students and faculty in order to obtain money or services from people in the community in addition to the records of the Harvard Business Review and Business Historical Society.

Biographical / Historical

The Harvard Business School was established in 1908 as the Graduate School of Business Administration at Harvard University. Edwin Francis Gay was appointed the first Dean. For the first two decades the Dean's offices were housed at University Hall, downstairs from Harvard University's President. From 1908-1927 classes were taught at the main Harvard campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

In 1912, at Gay's urging, the "problem method" of teaching business was informally adopted at HBS, a practice which has continued as the "case method" at HBS. Gay worked closely with the president and administration of Harvard University to build HBS and design a course of study that adequately addressed the needs of the business community. Also under Gay's leadership, the Dean's office developed courses in insurance, banking, railroading, lumbering, forestry, public utilities management and water transportation in addition to helping enrollment grow from 80 students to over 300 over the course of his tenure.

In 1919, Dean Gay resigned from HBS and was replaced by Wallace B. Donham who secured funding to build a separate campus. Up until this point, HBS had been occupying various loaned rooms in Lawrence Hall, University Hall and Widener Library. In 1924, Donham secured a $5 million dollar donation to build a new campus from George F. Baker, the president of the First National Bank of New York and, in 1927, HBS moved to a newly built campus across the river from Cambridge in Allston. HBS also formally adopted the case method of instruction under Dean Donham in 1924.

In 1942, Donald K. David was appointed Dean of Harvard Business School. The next year HBS suspended all courses until 1945 for the duration of the World War II. After reopening, Dean David worked to update the curriculum at HBS to reflect the post-war economy. He also traveled extensively in order to raise money and expand the focus of HBS. He retired in 1955.

The Dean's Office handles all administrative responsibilities of the HBS. These include fund-raising, construction and maintenance of buildings, course curriculum, and the development of Baker Library and the Kress Library which housed special collections and rare books. Additionally, the Dean's Office was responsible for maintaining statistics on students and faculty, coordinating research efforts, handling publicity, communicating with the various alumni association and clubs, and handling the financial information and resources of HBS. The Dean's subject files were maintained primarily as the central file for the Dean and their staff and are the authoritative record for the Dean's Office.

Arrangement

The original arrangement of the collection was maintained throughout processing and reflects a rough alphabetical arrangement of materials. The folder titles also reflect the original titles assigned by the Dean's Office although date ranges for materials within the folders were expanded when appropriate. HBS is at times referred to as HUBS (Harvard University Business School) throughout the collection which reflects the original folder titles. Some folders titles are followed by brief descriptions of their contents.

Physical Location

ARCFA

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Office of the Dean subject files were received by Baker Library Special Collection as a transfer.

Processing Information

Processed: April 2007 By:Dominique Tremblay. Revised: January 2022 By: Mary Samouelian

Author
Baker Library
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
und
EAD ID
bak01047

Repository Details

Part of the Baker Library Special Collections and Archives, Harvard Business School Repository

Baker Library Special Collections and Archives holds unique resources that focus on the evolution of business and industry, as well as the records of the Harvard Business School, documenting the institution's development over the last century. These rich and varied collections support research in a diverse range of fields such as business, economic, social and cultural history as well as the history of science and technology.

Contact:
Baker Library | Bloomberg Center
Soldiers Field Road
Boston MA 01263 USA
(617) 495-6411