60 Years of Business: The Story of Georgetown's Business School

Stephen Richard Kerbs Exhibit Area

First graduating MSB Class 1983

First graduating class, Masters of Business Administration, 1983.

 Established in 1789, Georgetown is the nation's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university. Georgetown was founded on the Jesuit principles of equality, respect, and cura personalis, or education of the whole person, and those same values define the school today. Through numerous centers, initiatives, and partnerships, Georgetown McDonough seeks to create a meaningful impact on business practice through both research and teaching. All academic programs prepare students to be “global ready” by providing a global perspective, woven through the undergraduate and graduate curriculum in a way that is unique to Washington, D.C. – the nexus of world business and policy – and to Georgetown University’s connections to global partner organizations and a world-wide alumni network. Founded in 1957, Georgetown McDonough is home to some 1,400 undergraduates, 1,000 MBA students, and 1,200 participants in executive degree or custom programs.

Curated by Jennifer C. Boettcher, Ann Ludtke, Ann Galloway, Teresa Mannix, and Chris Kormis.

Images provided by Georgetown University Archives; items on loan from the McDonough School of Business Communications Office; signs by Georgetown Maker Hub.

 

Georgetown College, District of Columbia 1820 Prospectus, front

Georgetown College, District of Columbia 1820 Prospectus, back

Georgetown College, District of Columbia 1820 Prospectus

“…There are also be a class of Book-keeping, for the convenience of those, who wish to learn it.”  Page 1, section 6.

“FOREIGN SERVICE STARTS NEW SCHOOL: Course to Require Five Year for Completion Featuring Business Administration” The Hoya, January 15, 1936

“FOREIGN SERVICE STARTS NEW SCHOOL: Course to Require Five Year for Completion Featuring Business Administration” The Hoya, January 15, 1936

Edmund Walsh, S.J. (Aims of the School of Foreign Service, November 25, 1919) stated “…Having entered upon the stage of world-politics and world-commerce we assumed world-wide obligations….”

Mary Stanley, 1951

Mary Stanley, 1951

First woman to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)  from Business Division of the School of Foreign Service in 1951.

Samuel Halsey, 1953

Samuel Halsey, 1953

First African American to graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA)  from Business Division of the School of Foreign Service in 1953.

Valerie Earle, 1955

Valerie Earle, 1955

First woman faculty member in the business division of the School of Foreign Service (1955-1956), then Government Department (1956-1986).

Othmar W. Winkler, 1968

Othmar W. Winkler, 1968

Faculty member in the School of Business Administration from 1961-1993.

Faculty of School of Business, 1968-69

Faculty of School of Business, 1968-69

The School of business faculty grew from 14 in 1968 to 144 in 2017.

First Graduating Class Masters of Business Administration (MBA), 1983

First Graduating Class Masters of Business Administration (MBA), 1983

Classes started 1981.  These students joined the program before the program was accredited.  The graduates were: Charalambos Adamopulous, David Cohen, Mary Curtis, William Diamond, Jr., Christopher Gartland, Scott Gray, Robert Hannum, Jr., Susan Higgins, Elizabeth Johnson, Barry Kahn, Bethany Ladimer, Laura Levine, Margaret Loomis, Lisa Manzi, Colleen McGarry, John Mueller, Margaret Nordlinger, Linda Odorisio, Marc Poland, Sandra Posillico, Cynthia Rice, Theodore Rokich, Joan Schaffer, Celeste Scheib, Adrian Sosin, Matthew Tabenken, Timothy Tassopoulos, Fran Tewkesbury, and Kenneth Zalk.

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford and Georgetown University President Timothy S. Healy, S.J., cut the ribbon at the rededication ceremony for the Old North Building, 1983

Former U.S. President Gerald Ford and Georgetown University President Timothy S. Healy, S.J., cut the ribbon at the rededication ceremony for the Old North Building, 1983

Renovation (1981-1983) of the Old North building to house the School of Business Administration.  Georgetown President Timothy S. Healy, S.J., conferred an honorary degree on former President at that time. 

Memory of Prof Bob Thomas: “…It was an old building, actually the ceiling of the top floor were coming down, and it was a dorm, so that would have been relatively dangerous for students to live there, and that began the renovation. I arrived at Georgetown in '82, right in the middle of the construction. We were all over the campus as faculty, but this was our first home, it was very exciting to be here. Just being here a year, and seeing this building inside, it was just wonderful, it looks the way it does today, pretty much."

Dean Robert S. Parker (1986-1997), Robert Emmett McDonough (F’49), Dr. Simone Ballandras McDonough, Dean Christopher P. Puto (1998-2002)

Birth of McDonough School of Business with a $40 million dollar gift of Robert Emmett McDonough, 1998

Pictured L-R: Dean Robert S. Parker (1986-1997), Robert Emmett McDonough (F’49), Dr. Simone Ballandras McDonough, Dean Christopher P. Puto (1998-2002).

Blessing & Groundbreaking Ceremonial Shovel, March 31, 2006

Blessing & Groundbreaking Ceremonial Shovel, March 31, 2006

Acrylic block with small shovel. Courtesy of the McDonough School of Business.

Acrylic cube

Georgetown University McDonough School, Rafik B. Hariri Building, September 10, 2009

Acrylic cube. Courtesy of the McDonough School of Business. 

Program from the Dedication of RAFIK B. HARIRI BUILDING, Robert E. McDonough School of Business, front cover

Program from the Dedication of RAFIK B. HARIRI BUILDING, Robert E. McDonough School of Business, interior

Program from the Dedication of RAFIK B. HARIRI BUILDING, Robert E. McDonough School of Business, back cover

Georgetown University, Dedication of RAFIK B. HARIRI BUILDING, Robert E. McDonough School of Business, Wednesday September 16, 2009

Courtesy of the McDonough School of Business.

McDonough School of Business Blue metal “cowbell”

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business Blue metal “cowbell”

NYSE Remote Closing Bell Ceremony and Capital Markets Panel, September 28, 2010.  Video: youtu.be/VNuq_apGjPU

60th Anniversary Photo Gathering, September 7, 2016

60th Anniversary Photo Gathering, September 7, 2016

Some 300 students, faculty, and staff marched onto the lawn next to the school’s Rafik B. Hariri Building to form a 40 foot x 60 foot number 60 for an aerial photograph and time-lapse video. Photograph taken by Georgetown University Photographer Phil Humnicky. Video: youtu.be/Dm--M4jM954

Degrees Awarded by the Business School, 2016

Degrees Awarded by the Business School, 2016

Business School Enrollment Figures from 1957-2017

Business School Enrollment Figures from 1957-2017

Timeline of Business School Events

Timeline of Business School Events