A Message from Dean Clark
The new academic year brings a sense of heightened expectation to the HBS campus. In the last twelve months we have realized extraordinary progress in a number of areas. As we look to the future, our central mission - to educate leaders - remains unchanged, yet our commitment to that mission requires continuing innovation in all of our educational programs.
What we see ahead is a need for leaders with strong general management skills - people who know how to get things done and are able to inspire others. These qualities have defined business leadership for many decades. Today, however, there is a particular need for managers to be entrepreneurial in spirit, to view business from a global perspective, and to know how to use information technology to their companies' best advantage. To meet this challenge, in the past few years we have made major investments in the areas of entrepreneurship, global business, and information technology.
In entrepreneurship, the HBS California Research Center had a tremendously successful year. Nearly two dozen cases on issues ranging from incubating new businesses to angel investing were completed or are under way; in addition, the Center served as host for January's WesTrek, a recruiting and networking event in Silicon Valley attended by almost 250 HBS students.
In the global realm, our new Asia Pacific research office, due to open this fall in Hong Kong, will provide a unique opportunity to expand the School's understanding of the dynamic business forces at work in Asia by facilitating research and course development in the region. Executive Education rolled out the innovative Program for Global Leadership, with modules split between Boston and Asia (and this year, Boston and Latin America).
And since its launch in October 1995, the IT initiative has continued to grow and flourish, developing and employing leading-edge technologies as part of the School's award-winning intranet. Of particular relevance to alumni, our "Webcast" of this year's Global Alumni Conference in Chicago provides an exciting glimpse of how we will link our graduates in the future to the many activities under way at HBS - not only at Soldiers Field, but around the world.
In addition to these three initiatives, I would like to tell you about our progress on a fourth area of profound significance: community standards. Our goal is to make HBS a model of the highest standards essential to responsible leadership in the modern business world. We seek to create an extraordinary environment for teaching and learning, one where our students, faculty, and staff are challenged, supported, and encouraged to learn, grow, and achieve their fullest potential.
The work encompasses three areas of activity: communication, training and education, and establishing systems for accountability. In the first area, faculty, staff, and students have been working to review, strengthen, and articulate the School's community standards. As we prepare to implement their recommendations, special emphasis will be placed on issues of conduct both in and outside the HBS classroom. Members of the Alumni Board and other HBS graduates also will be working with us on this crucial project as we move forward.
A second group is developing a program to help faculty foster an effective learning environment and respond to issues that may arise in the classroom. In addition, a group of faculty, administrators, and students is evaluating the most effective way to communicate our standards to new students.
Finally, last spring faculty and students voted in a new disciplinary process that is clear and efficient. The appointment of an ombudsperson, who has responsibility for the integrity of the process and serves as a first point of contact, is a key development in this effort.
In closing, I would like to extend my thanks to all of you who support our work, including our 25th Reunion class, celebrated in this issue of the Bulletin. It is particularly noteworthy that the Class of 1973 has designated its reunion gift to support the School's work in the area of Social Enterprise. Since its inception five years ago, this initiative has achieved well-deserved recognition for its important and innovative work, including research, course development, student internships, practitioner conferences, and executive education offerings.
Members of the Class of 1973 and other alumni who visit the campus this fall will notice another exciting work in progress at Soldiers Field: preparations for this winter's groundbreaking for a new campus center. Made possible by a generous gift from C.D. ("Dick") Spangler, Jr. (MBA '56), and his family, the Spangler Center will provide an integrative setting for a wide range of academic, administrative, and social activities in the MBA Program. On many fronts, the School is truly humming with activity.
I look forward to seeing many of you this year during my travels abroad.
Kim B. Clark
September 1998