College of Business Administration records

Collection

Identifier: A025

Scope and Content Note

The collection documents the growth of the faculty and program offerings of the College of Business Administration (CBA) from the late 1930s to the late 1990s. The bulk of the material dates from 1960 to 1990. This collection is divided into two series: Administrative Records and Publications. The history, expansion, and future plans of the CBA are documented throughout the various Annual Reports (Box 1, Folders 2-23), Masters and Undergraduate Accreditation Questionnaire Responses (Boxes 1-2, Folders 37-47, 63-68), and Admissions Publications (Box 3). The accreditation material provides information concerning the history of the college, program offerings, faculty background, and the administrative direction in which the college was headed. The histories describe the growth of the college but do not highlight the work of faculty and administrators.

The admissions publications document the growth of the college into a market-conscious competitor, vying for potential students and relationships in the business community. The earlier publications, from the 1960s, deal mainly with accounting, business management, and taxation. The evolution of the college, according to the expanding needs of the business world, is reflected in the creation of programs like the Executive M.B.A. (Box 3, Folders 76-77), High Technology M.B.A. (Box 3, Folder 88), and the undergraduate concentration in International Business (Box 3, Folder 91). The Admissions Publications document the schools and concentrations offered.

While the admissions publications demonstrate the way the CBA has responded to the changing needs of the business community, the various newsletters and publications describe the way the CBA has interacted with the business world (Box 4, Folders 116-125, 129, 147-148). Of special interest is a collection of press clippings, "CBA in the News"(1990-1991),either about the CBA or featuring faculty members (Box 4, Folders 126-128). The student guides, handbooks, and manuals from the late 1960s through the early 1980s contain information about student regulations, tuition and fees, honor societies, and curriculum.

The fiftieth anniversary celebration of the CBA of 1958, is well documented. There is a collection of memoranda and correspondence that details planning the event. There are also tickets, programs, photographs (xeroxed), and speech texts included (Box 1, Folder 32). Audio records were kept of the fiftieth anniversary convocation ceremonies, 1960 (Box 5). Researchers may also wish to consult Northeastern Nights, a student newspaper of the Evening School of Business, located in the Northeastern University Publications Collection.

Dates

Creation: 1927-2011

Creator

Northeastern University (Boston, Mass.). College of Business Administration (Organization)

Conditions Governing Access:

Records are closed for 25 years from the date of their creation, unless researchers have written permission from the creating office. Student records (box 8, folder 9-14) are closed for 75 years from their date of creation.

Historical Note

Responding to the needs of the Boston business community in 1898, the Greater Boston Y.M.C.A. began offering business courses focused on training clerks; typing and bookkeeping were the principal course offerings. By the turn of the century, with business practice becoming increasingly complex, the need to educate businessmen in more modern techniques of administration and contemporary business ethics became apparent.

In 1907 the Evening Institute at the Greater Boston Y.M.C.A. formed a part-time School of Commerce and Finance, initially offering courses in finance, administration, business law and languages, and later, more specialized courses, including banking, finance and bond salesmanship, and accounting. The School of Commerce and Finance operated until 1960 when its programs were merged with other evening/part-time curricula into University College.

The College of Business Administration (CBA) was established in 1922 as a conventional four-year program leading to the Baccalaureate Degree in Science. It was the second day college in the Northeastern University complex. In 1924 the CBA adapted its programs of instruction to the five-year Cooperative Education Plan. The college became part of Northeastern's Day Division, along with the College of Engineering.

In 1951 a part-time M.B.A. program was started in the Graduate Division of the University, which operated independently of the CBA. The 1960s marked a period of unprecedented growth for the college and its programs, particularly in the areas of graduate and executive education. In 1963 the newly created Graduate School introduced its first day program, the full-time M.B.A. The Graduate School of Professional Accounting was established in 1965 as a 15-month program offering an M.S./M.B.A. degree and an M.S. in Taxation. Graduate-level certificate programs in executive development were also introduced in the 1960s. Offered through the Center for Management Development, the programs utilized College faculty as well as faculty from other institutions. Certificate programs offer advanced study in business administration, management development, and, since 1996, information resources management.

Both the graduate and undergraduate programs are fully accredited by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business. In 1990 the Graduate School was one of 57 business schools selected from among 700 nationally for inclusion in Prentice-Halls' Top Business Schools: The Ultimate Guide. Northeastern was one of five New England business schools selected. The Graduate School of Business offers full and part-time M.B.A. programs, and the following graduate degrees: Management Intern M.B.A., Executive M.B.A., High Technology M.B.A., M.S. in Accounting, M.S. in Finance, and the M.D./M.B.A. program in Health Management, which was first offered in 1995 in conjunction with Tufts School of Medicine and Brandeis University's Florence Heller School to allow medical students to study the business and policy aspects of health care while earning a joint degree in four years.

In the Fall of 1994, the CBA introduced its innovative Bachelor of Science in International Business, the first degree program of its kind in the country. Since 1996 the cooperative education, five-year, undergraduate-program has offered concentrations in: Accounting, Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management, Finance and Insurance, Human Resources Management, International Business, Logistics and Transportation, Management, Management Information Systems, and Marketing.

Chronology

1922-1928
: Turner F. Garner
1928-1935
: Carl S. Ell
1935-1939
: Wilfred S. Lake, Dean of Instruction
1939-1942
: Asa S. Knowles
1942-1944
: Robert Bruce, Acting Dean
1944-1965
: Roger S. Hamilton
1966-1967
: Harry E. Wilkinson
1967-1976
: James S. Hekimian
1976-1977
: Philip T. Crotty, Acting Dean
1977-1979
: Geoffrey P.E. Clarkson
1979-1980
: Philip R. McDonald, Acting Dean
1980-1983
: David H. Blake
1983-1987
: Philip R. McDonald
1987-1994
: David P. Boyd, Acting Dean, Dean
1994-2004
: Ira R. Weiss
2004-Present
: Thomas E. Moore

Extent

6.05 cubic feet (8 containers)

Language

English

Additional Description

Overview

Northeastern University's (NU) College of Business Administration was established in 1922 as a conventional four-year program leading to the Baccalaureate Degree in Science. It was the second day college at NU. In 1924, the college adapted its programs of instruction to the five-year Cooperative Education Plan. In 1960, NU's evening School of Business merged with the day College of Business Administration. The evening program began in 1907 as the School of Commerce and Finance of the Greater Boston YMCA. In 1928, the School of Commerce and Finance was renamed the School of Business. The 1960s marked a period of unprecedented growth for the college and its programs, particularly in the areas of graduate and executive education. In 1963, the newly created graduate school introduced its first day program, the full-time M.B.A. The Graduate School of Professional Accounting was established in 1965 as a 15-month program offering an M.S./M.B.A. degree and an M.S. in Taxation. Graduate-level certificate programs in executive development were also introduced in the 1960s.

Overview

The collection documents the growth of the faculty and program offerings of Northeastern University's (NU) College of Business Administration from the late 1930s to the late 1990s. The bulk of the material dates from 1960 to 1990. The history, expansion, and future plans of the college are documented throughout the annual reports, responses to accreditation questionnaires, and admissions publications. Accreditation records provide information concerning the history of the college, program offerings, faculty, and directions in which the college was headed. The admissions publications document the schools and concentrations offered, as well as the growth of the college into a market-conscious competitor, vying for potential students and relationships in the business community. Newsletters, clippings, and publications describe how the college has interacted with the business world. The student guides, handbooks, and manuals from the late 1960s through the early 1980s contain information about student regulations, tuition and fees, honor societies, and curricula. The fiftieth anniversary celebration of the college in 1958 is also well documented with correspondence, planning materials, tickets, programs, photographs (photocopied), speeches, and audio tapes.

System of Arrangement:

Organized into 2 series: 1. Administrative Records; and 2. Publications.

Physical Location

28/3, 35/3

Bibliography

"The Business Report," 1997. (Box 4, Folder 118).
"Masters Program Accreditation Questionnaire," 1968. (Box 1, Folder 40).
"Masters Program Accreditation Questionnaire and Undergraduate Self-Study Report," 1973. (Box 2, Folders 46-47).
"M.B.A. Student Guide," 1984-85. (Box 4, Folder 149).