Batten Gift to Support Residential Campus
Frank Batten, a member of the MBA Class of 1952, has made an extraordinary $32 million gift to HBS. The gift — one of the largest in the School’s history — will support the renewal and enhancement of the Soldiers Field campus.
“Frank Batten’s magnificent generosity focuses on one of the most distinctive and important features of this School,” said Dean Kim B. Clark, who announced the gift in March. “This is an intellectual community — a residential setting in which MBA students, doctoral candidates, and Executive Education participants learn both inside and outside the classroom. With this gift, Frank Batten has ensured that our very special model of living and learning will continue into the future, as we renew the facilities on this campus and look toward future opportunities with our neighbors.”
Harvard University President Lawrence H. Summers applauded Batten’s example, as well as his generosity. “Frank Batten’s remarkable career as an entrepreneur, chief executive officer, and philanthropist is an inspiration to us all,” Summers commented. “Through his extremely generous gift, he has set an example for others in supporting higher education and acknowledging its importance for the future.”
The Batten gift will enable the School to secure and enhance the southern entrance to the HBS campus in preparation for Harvard’s major investment in its Allston neighborhood. In honor of Batten, the School will name the main entrance on the south side of the campus Batten Way. The gift will ensure the continuation of the School’s unique residential campus, where living, classroom, office, and gathering spaces create a powerful community.
“I believe education is the best means for developing human potential,” said Batten. “HBS gave me the confidence to take over a substantial business when I was only 27.”
Batten is a visionary entrepreneur and business leader who built Landmark Communications, Inc., based in Norfolk, Virginia, into a multimedia enterprise consisting of dozens of newspapers and specialty publications, several television stations, and The Weather Channel (see sidebar). In addition to his business activities, Batten has continually engaged in efforts to improve education. At the same time he made his gift to HBS, Batten announced significant gifts to six other education–related institutions, totaling more than $172 million. “Over the years, Frank Batten has made extraordinary contributions to education,” said HBS professor Howard H. Stevenson, senior associate dean for External Relations. “He will have a lasting impact on the future of learning.”
Batten’s gift to HBS continues a tradition that began with George F. Baker, a New York banker who contributed $5 million in 1924 to build the School’s campus on the Boston side of the Charles River. From the outset, the HBS campus was designed to support a new kind of education for managers. It was created as a residential campus — unusual for a graduate school, then and now — to help foster a sense of community and professionalism among its students. It also was designed to facilitate teaching by the case method, which the School had developed for use in management education.
In succeeding decades, additions to the campus have been made in this same spirit. Most recently, these have included Spangler Center — a community gathering place made possible by C.D. (“Dick”) Spangler, Jr. (MBA ’56) and his family — and Hawes Hall, a new classroom building made possible by a gift from Beverly and Rodney A. Hawes, Jr. (MBA ’69).
Also in recent years, Harvard University has requested that its various schools develop “precinct plans,” to serve as a long–range vision of physical change and growth. The recently completed HBS precinct plan suggests possible development ideas along the southern edge of the campus, where the parking lot bordered by Western Avenue now stands. In particular, it contemplates the construction of residence halls specifically for HBS students. The existing Soldiers Field Park complex, as well as the new apartment facility — One Western Avenue, now under construction — is intended for the larger University community and may not provide sufficient residential space for future generations of HBS students.
“When our forefathers planned the original HBS campus, they had the foresight to realize that the residential component would be very important to the success of the School,” notes Angela Crispi (MBA ’90), associate dean for administration at HBS. “Frank Batten’s generosity will enable us to continue the tradition of creating a seamless experience from learning to living.”
Presently, Harvard University owns 240 acres of land in Allston, compared with the 215 in Cambridge. “As Allston develops,” observes HBS professor Jay O. Light, senior associate dean for Planning and Development, “the approach to our campus from the south becomes extremely important. The space between Spangler Center and Western Avenue is literally the future of the School. Frank Batten’s gift, in a very real sense, helps us secure our future.”
— Jeffrey L. Cruikshank (51st PMD)
