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We are poised on the cusp of a new millennium, with all the promise and possibility such a milestone implies. At HBS, our mission for the 21st century - to educate leaders - is rooted in the traditions established by those who founded the School in 1908. Our goal is to have an impact not only on the skills and knowledge our graduates will bring to their jobs but also on their values, their attitudes, and their character.
To reach this goal we must continue the long-standing tradition of innovation in our educational programs. Over the past few years we have been working on several initiatives that are yielding substantial results. Our extensive investment in information technology (IT) has been particularly effective, enhancing our ability to teach, conduct research, and serve our diverse and often far-flung constituencies.
Harvard Business School Publishing, through its widely acclaimed books, cases, course modules, and interactive materials, has established a solid leadership position in distance learning efforts. Today, advances in technology are allowing the School to further extend its reach in ways never before possible. In the MBA Program, for example, we are working on a promising distance learning initiative that will enrich the prematriculation process for incoming students. In Executive Education, the Program for Global Leadership now includes distance learning modules on global financial markets and the transformation of global telecommunications.
These preliminary efforts are undertaken with the awareness that down the road, distance learning projects will require even more imagination. We have begun an experiment to retrofit one of our classrooms with the technology necessary to allow full-scale interaction with off-site locations. Imagine, for example, a case discussion bringing together students and executives from around the globe. The technology offers tremendous opportunities to enhance the HBS tradition of bringing the real world into the classroom. It also presents a substantial challenge if we hope to make this technology standard equipment in our classrooms.
We are excited by the possibilities generated by our research offices in California and Hong Kong and our planned center in Latin America. The California Research Center (CRC) has far exceeded expectations in terms of the number of faculty who have used its Silicon Valley facilities to support research and case-writing on cutting-edge topics - such as e-commerce and hypergrowth companies - that are of great interest to so many of our students and alumni. Our faculty must stay close to best practice in this entrepreneurial mecca, and we expect continued growth at the CRC.
We have begun to see signs of similar success in the work at our new Asia-Pacific Research Office in Hong Kong. This is a fascinating area of the world for field-based research. Since its official opening last January, the office has provided support to faculty studies on emerging markets, financial structures in lesser developed countries, multinational joint ventures, and product development. Encouraged by these efforts, we are looking forward in the near future to the opening of a center in Latin America that will broaden our faculty's ability to create intellectual capital for the School.
As HBS expands the scope of its activities, faculty development - always a major priority - has assumed heightened importance. In creating initiatives to address the realities of today's business world, we are also increasing our need for faculty members who are close to practice, globally oriented, and intellectually engaged in emerging areas critical to managerial success. Our ability to attract, develop, and retain a faculty with this set of distinctive talents - in addition to an uncommon ability to create an outstanding educational experience in the classroom - is crucial to our continued success. We are encouraged that we have been able to recruit outstanding new faculty in recent years while expanding opportunities for our emeriti faculty to continue their valuable contributions to the School. As we move forward, faculty development will require an unprecedented commitment of resources, energy, and creativity.
In closing, I want to return to the topic that began this message: the importance of developing in our students a dedication to leadership, values, and responsibility. In my travels as Dean, I have been deeply impressed with our graduates' leadership abilities. One would expect HBS alumni to excel in their professional lives - and you obviously do - but it is extraordinary to see the extent to which you are reaching out in your communities, using your talents and resources to transform the world. We have always relied on your generous support of the School, but it is important to recognize the extent to which our graduates are also becoming involved in other worthwhile causes. You set a fine example for our students, who look to you for inspiration in their own careers.
HBS is more than just another school. It is a community defined by faculty, staff, students, and alumni who continually challenge and guide us. I am grateful to be involved in this unique institution as we enter the 21st century. It is a time of extraordinary potential for us all.
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