IMPACT OF AN ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE STUDENT BODY
In keeping with the “inclusion” portion of the 5i’s, Nohria noted the school’s commitment to being a place where everyone can thrive and do their best work.
“We have made significant progress in the MBA Program, and it is deeply heartening that in the last several years we have closed the gender achievement gap: men and women are now roughly proportionally represented among first and second year honors recipients, as well as among Baker Scholars. Equally important, today there are no differences in satisfaction with the MBA Program among student demographic groups,” he wrote.
The school has also made great strides in terms of its commitment to increasing financial aid, he noted. Last year, the school provided aid to roughly half of all MBA students, with an average annual fellowship of $35,000. “As one indicator of our success, 71 students in the MBA Class of 2018 are the first in their families to attend college,” he added.
But while financial aid covers tuition and living expenses, it doesn’t extend to the many—often pricey—extracurricular jaunts where many students find they build some of their deepest relationships. “The MBA leadership team and the Student Association co-presidents for the past two years have made this an area of focus, devising ways to bolster less expensive on-campus activities (including, for example, dinners with faculty and enhancing the residential experience),” Nohria wrote. But it’s an area that requires deeper examination. “If we can get our students to better understand and find creative ways to respond to the economic inequality issues they experience at HBS, undoubtedly we will better prepare them to tackle these pressing issues when they leave the School.”
Also under the heading of “inclusion,” Nohria noted that the school is planning in 2018 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of the African-American Student Union. It is also paying close attention to the 2015 American Association of Universities survey on sexual conduct as it seeks ways both to prevent gender-based and sexual harassment (including assault) and support any members of the community who experience it. Finally, HBS is wrestling with the tension between inclusion and free speech. Especially with the case method, diversity of thought is essential, but there is a thin line between ensuring that everyone feels welcome, respected and heard and people beginning to feel that they can’t disagree with each other or must censor thoughts that might not be widely shared. “Harvard Business School has long sought to embrace this dichotomy, knowing that true learning takes place when opinions are tested, and this is the balance we must continue to strive to attain.”
STRENGTHENING FACULTY’S DISTINCTIVENESS
HBS finds itself needing to support the ever-evolving research interests of its faculty, including a growing interest in more complex, and costly, field-based experiences. “This style of research requires new models of funding, as the resources involved typically far exceed our internally-provided research budgets (picture field experiments in emerging markets that test the efficacy of mobile phone interventions to improve financial and health literacy, or experiments that mobilize communities of problem solvers to tackle innovation challenges presented by organizations like NASA),” wrote Nohria. But it is work that can have significant real-world impact—“precisely the kind of intellectual ambition we want to nurture at HBS,” he continued.
In addition, there are interdisciplinary projects tackling massive topics like the competitiveness of the U.S. economy, how to create a value-based healthcare system that lowers costs while improving outcomes and the drivers and consequences of economic inequality, among many others.
And last but not least, there are case studies to be written. “We are looking to ensure that succeeding generations of faculty master the art of case writing,” Nohria wrote, noting that they are important not only in HBS’s curricula but indeed make up a significant portion of the curricula of business schools around the globe. “With very few new faculty members coming to HBS with an MBA, it’s rare for them to have even encountered a case, much less taught or written one,” he continued. And so resources must be allocated toward ensuring that the craft of case writing continues.
CONTINUED COMMITMENT TO INTERNATIONALIZATION—CURRENT TRENDS NOTWITHSTANDING
Nohria’s address to alumni was nothing if not current. Though written before the executive order by President Trump banning immigrants from several nations threw the world into turmoil, Nohria’s update tackled the issue of globalization—and its detractors—head on.
“The anti-globalization sentiment that is spreading across many nations is one we will need to watch carefully, because in many ways HBS is both inherently and intentionally global,” he wrote. Indeed, one of every three MBA students and two of every three Executive Education students hail from outside the United States. And as part of FIELD, all 900 MBA students are required as part of the curriculum to spend time in another country. (The ability of some current students to travel as part of FIELD has been called into question with the executive order and its subsequent legal battle.)
“Forces like global terrorism and viruses like Zika can at times make it seem easier to simply withdraw from our international engagements,” Nohria wrote. “Our mission of educating leaders who make a difference in the world, however, commits us to continued global engagement,” he said.
“As someone who is at heart optimistic, I believe that the School’s global network of students, faculty, staff, and alumni powerfully demonstrate the ways that business can be a global force for prosperity and peace in communities and countries, and that our core activities of teaching and research are more important to the world today than ever.”
Read Dean Nohria’s full 2017 Report to Alumni.
