In a 1979 letter to the International Schools of Business Management, Ltd.—the entity that ran the International Teachers Program—HBS professor James P. Baughman explained why HBS was severing its ties to ITP:

"Harvard's decision has not been lightly taken. In view of the fact that Harvard created ITP, has been an enthusiastic founding member of ISBM, and has been represented on every ITP core-faculty through ITP-78. Harvard's decision should be taken only as reflecting changes in Harvard priorities, and not in an any way as criticism of our colleagues in ISMB or the quality of ITP.

"To understand the changes that have taken place in Harvard's situation, some background is necessary. When ITP was created, there was a worldwide shortage of qualified teachers of management at the collegiate level. There was also a sense of missionary zeal on the part of the then Harvard faculty to propagate the case-method of instruction. There was also readily available third-party financing (on the part of the Ford Foundation) to encourage an ITP-like venture. Today, a proliferation of doctoral programs has increased the supply of teachers; Harvard is less sure it has all the answer for the rest of the world; and third-party financing for what can only be a deficit program has virtually disappeared."