Contact: Jim Aisner, jaisner@hbs.edu (617) 495-6157
David Lampe, dlampe@hbs.edu (617) 495-6336
Harvard Business School Communications
Gift will support new programs, technology, and broad dissemination of the resources of the School's world-class Historical Collections
BOSTON -- The de Gaspé Beaubien Foundation, a family foundation based in Montreal, has donated $10 million (Canadian) to Harvard Business School (HBS) in honor of Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien (MBA 1954) and his wife, Nan-b. The gift will fund the de Gaspé Beaubien Family Endowment at Harvard Business School and focus on supporting a wide range of new and innovative activities, projects, and outreach programs associated with the Historical Collections of the School's Baker Library.
The Harvard Business School Historical Collections comprise one of the most extensive business history resources for scholars, researchers, students, and other interested audiences around the world. Among the projects that may be funded are the development of Web-based access to the Collections, the creation and use of educational materials for audiences outside of Harvard Business School, the production of new publications regarding the Collections, the incorporation of historical materials into the HBS curriculum, and the expansion of the Collections.
The Foundation's gift to HBS, part of the School's capital campaign, which aims to raise $500 million by 2005, also recognizes the de Gaspé Beaubiens' three children, Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien III, (MBA 1988), Francois de Gaspé Beaubien, (MBA 1989), and Nanon de Gaspé Beaubien Mattrick, (MBA 1991).
“This generous gift comes from a family whose ties to Harvard Business School extend over two generations and whose advice and counsel have benefited HBS deans for several decades,” said Dean Kim B. Clark. “It will enable us to fully engage our students and faculty, as well as wider audiences, in the study and appreciation of the lessons and legacies of business history, which has been an important part of our curriculum since 1927.”
In making their gift, the de Gaspé Beaubien family said, “We are proud to be associated with Harvard Business School in its continuing pursuit of excellence in the teaching and dissemination of the important lessons learned from the study of business history. We hope that our gift will increase the knowledge and awareness of this important collection for a wide audience and help reaffirm the fact that it is impossible to look to the future without learning from the past.”
With approximately 600,000 volumes, Baker Library, now undergoing a major, state-of-the-art renovation and rebuilding, is one of the largest and most comprehensive business libraries in the world. When it reopens in 2005, the Historical Collections Reading Room will be named in honor of the de Gaspé Beaubien family.
One of Baker Library's crown jewels, the Harvard Business School Historical Collections comprise the Kress Collection of Business and Economics, widely recognized as one of the world's premier rare book collections; the Business Manuscript Collection, with approximately 1,400 sets of original business manuscripts from the fifteenth through twentieth centuries; and a collection of original company documents and reports dating from the early 1800s to the present.
In addition, the Historical Collections hold the Baker Old Class Collection, a unique assemblage of books, pamphlets, and periodicals that trace the development and growth of American business and industry from the late 1800s to the first decades of the twentieth century. Another important resource is the R.G. Dun & Co. Collection of more than two thousand volumes of handwritten credit reports, dating from 1841 to 1892, on individuals and firms in the United States.
A native of Montreal, Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien received his Bachelor of Arts degree from the Université de Montreal in 1952. After earning his MBA from Harvard Business School in 1954, he pursued a career in marketing and management, becoming, in 1963, the Director of Operations for the Corporation for the 1967 World Exposition in Montreal. Subsequently, he took over the leadership of Telemedia Communications Inc, transforming it into a major media and communications company. He is now Co-chair of the Business Families Foundation of Montreal.
Mr. de Gaspé Beaubien has received many honors throughout his distinguished career, including the Order of Canada, the Canadian Centennial Medal, the Czechoslovak Gold Medal, the Canadian Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame Award, honorary doctorates from York University in Toronto and L’École des Hautes Études Commerciales in Montreal, and an Award of Merit from B’nai Brith Canada.
Mrs. Nan-b de Gaspé Beaubien was born in Boston. She attended Smith College and completed the course work for a doctorate in educational psychology from McGill University. A recipient of the Canadian Centennial Medal, a member of the Canadian Broadcasters’ Hall of Fame, and a founder of the Canadian Broadcast Institute, she is Co-chair of the Business Families Foundation and a director of Four Seasons Hotels Inc.
The family’s experience and success as entrepreneurs led Mr. and Mrs. de Gaspé Beaubien to found the Business Families Foundation in 1993. Dedicated to providing family businesses the educational opportunities and support they need, the foundation is affiliated with several Canadian universities and offers workshops and training programs addressing such key issues as succession and governance.
Mr. and Mrs. de Gaspé Beaubien served as members of Harvard Business School's Board of Dean's Advisors from 1994 to 2000. Mr. de Gaspé Beaubien was also a member of the School's Visiting Committee from 1988 to 1994 and has served on its Canadian Advisory Board since the board's inception in 1998.
Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School (www.hbs.edu) is located in Boston and offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and doctoral degrees, as well as a portfolio of more than 40 Executive Education programs. With a faculty of more than 200 distinguished scholars, the School is dedicated to educating leaders who make a difference in the world. Its core focus is to shape the practice of business, build enduring knowledge, and effectively communicate important ideas to meet the challenges and opportunities of the twenty-first century.