100 years of KU Business

"Entered the Business School Spring Semester of 1961. Core classes of Marketing, Statistics, Business Management were held in a large auditorium classroom with approximately 60 Students, only 2 were female. Women were not prevalent in the Business World. I remember eating lunch in the cafeteria at the new Summerfield Hall at the bottom of 'The Hill,' the South boundary of the campus, except for the new Allen Fieldhouse." —Sharon Ward Lockwood Newell

"I 100% enjoyed being a student at KU and part of the B-school from 2010-2014. I was involved with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and also Athletics. I realized early on that I was one of a few Latinas on campus. Being involved on campus and part of the Multicultural Business Scholars Program provided me with the greatest experience and support! The B-School at this time was so much fun. We had an amazing and relatable leader in Dean Neeli Bendapudi but also Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little. That was inspirational for a student like me. I have plenty of memories in Summerfield and interacting with other B-School students. One of my favorite memories is attending the back to school cook out and Dean Neeli being there talking to students and making us feel so welcome. My friends and I all worked hard and graduated together in Allen Fieldhouse. That was a bittersweet ending!! Rock Chalk." —Jessica Montoya, b'14

"While there are many KU School of Business alum, few can say they are a graduate of the School’s first fully online MBA program. I am extremely grateful for the commitment to rigor demonstrated by our professors and instructors. Our online program included a great balance of synchronous and asynchronous learning activities, as well as opportunities to collaborate and network with cohort colleagues. Congratulations on the first 100 years of existence. Can’t wait to see what innovation and excellence is yet to come in the next 100. Rock Chalk!" —James Brauer, MBA'17

"I believe the School of Business at KU in Capitol Federal Hall provided me a little (big) home on campus. I had finished the classes for my major early(shoutout Film school, who now occupies the old B-School building), but was able to spend my entire senior year taking classes for my Business Minor in Capitol Federal Hall. The views the building provides, the tiny coffee booth at the bottom of the stairs, the crimson, blue and yellow themes throughout the building, and adaptable seating throughout the B-School was always a welcoming environment for me to do my work in. It was also a meeting spot for me and some of my other friends getting a business minor to study in. We always sat next to the ticker tape room on the second floor. This was the best view in the new, beautiful building. Funny enough, I now work as a Marketing Manager for GastingerWalker&, the architecture firm that designed the building. I took my first Marketing class in Capitol Federal Hall, so I'm really using the skills I learned in class. I told this story, of how fantastic I thought the building is, in my interview for this job. I've been here for a year and half now and the photos we have the KU B-School are my favorite to use in presentations. To conclude, I went to a KU Volleyball game the other day and noticed the 100 year sign on the building, so I knew I had to check out the history and saw the option to submit a prompt. I love KU and will always provide a memory or two when I can. #RockChalk" —Molly Welsh, c'17

"I remember spending time in the MAcc lounge studying and chatting with fellow MAcc students! I enjoyed my management class with Ravi Shanmugam as well as being his TA. I’m happy that we keep in touch years later! My intermediate accounting classes challenged me in ways that helped me develop further in my career. Looking back, there was a little fun mixed in too. I’ll always remember the back-to-school barbecue with good food and free t-shirts that I still wear years later!" —Tiffany Martel, b'18, MAcc'19

"I had many memories at Capitol Federal Hall/the School of Business. One of my favorites was being a teaching assistant/peer mentor for a first-year business professionalism class. One of my favorite parts of being a teaching assistant/peer mentor was meeting with all the different students who were interested in pursuing a business degree. During that class, the students were required to meet with their TA/peer mentor twice during the semester and during those sessions, I had the opportunity to mentor, provide feedback, and simply listen to experiences and dreams of each student. Now, seeing those students go on to do things that when they were once freshmen hoped to do is so fulfilling. Although I don’t keep in close contact with those 50 students anymore, I am proud of each one of them and hope that I somehow had a positive impact on their time at the beginning of their business school and KU journey. Because of the resources the business school provided me with, I was armored with many tips to give to first year business school students. At the time of being a TA, I was a senior and happy to pass along any and every advice. I had the pleasure of working alongside great teachers and leaders of the class who continue to be business leader inspirations to me: Karl Kammerer for one semester and Erin Whitehurst for another. The opportunity of being a peer mentor for those students was incredibly rewarding and I am grateful I had that opportunity at the KU School of Business." —Anna Pick, b'22

"Capitol Federal Hall by itself was my first introduction to the KU School of Business. The open design that facilitates communication and simulates a start-up environment, the K-based architecture that pays tribute to the state of Kansas, and just its majestic location in the Central District and across from the Allen Fieldhouse were more than enough to cast a lasting impression on a first-year business student like me. I mostly appreciated my introductory accounting classes (ACCT 200 and 201) with Professor Alee Phillips and Professor Josh Arpin, who ignited the passion for business in me. I also remembered my TA (Josh Plagge) who taught both of my ACCT classes always being supportive and energetic. The BSchool provided me with amazing educators, peers, and opportunities to develop professionally and personally. I especially enjoyed representing KU at national sales competitions. It was the sleepless nights in a hotel lobby with my coach and teammates that taught me the importance of competence, diligence, and above all collaboration. It was a great pride to be a business Jayhawk. Thank you BSchool for all of the wonderful memories and opportunities you brought to all of us." —Thanh Tan Nguyen, b'24

In 1904, the Regents authorized four “suggested” curricula under the heading “Courses in Business in its Higher Relations, Leading to General Business, Banking, Insurance, and Journalism.” Then-Chancellor Frank Strong promoted the program, emphasizing the need for business education at KU. 

In 1914, 269 merchants from more than 100 Kansas towns delivered lectures over three days about merchandising and salesmanship in what was called Merchants Week, instituted by University Extension. Edward T. Hackney, an 1895 KU graduate, was chairman of the Board of Administration, which was the governing agency for state schools. In February of 1914 while plans were made for Merchants Week, Hackney affirmed that KU would soon have a commerce school. 

KU hosted this Merchants Week annually through 1917. It was not held 1918–19 due to wartime conditions but was resumed in 1920 through 1922.

Merchants Week came to be called the Merchants Short Course. During its 1920 session, then-Chancellor Ernest H. Lindley asserted the need for a business school at the University of Kansas.

In his biennial report for 1919–20, Chancellor Lindley incorporated his official recommendation for business education: “Provision should also be made for the establishment of a school of commerce for the more specific training of leaders in all lines of business. There is a science underlying economic activities, the knowledge of which is as necessary to success today in modern business as the knowledge of physiology is necessary to the physician.” 

KU School of Engineering Dean P. F. Walker documented his support for business education at KU in Chancellor Lindley’s 1922 biennial report, sharing his belief in the need for providing training in business and commerce to supplement the engineering school in service to the state. 

In January of 1924, Chancellor Lindley brought to campus Dean Charles Manfred Thompson of the University of Illinois School of Commerce and Business Administration. Thompson addressed the value of collegiate business schools with a group of faculty members and local business owners.