Harvard Business School Graduates 893 During 94th Commencement
MBA Class of 2004 shows brighter job prospects
BOSTON -- For the 94th time since its founding in 1908 as "a delicate experiment" in the graduate-level study of business administration, the Harvard Business School awarded Master in Business Administration diplomas to its graduates on June 10. A total of 889 students graduated from the two-year, full-time MBA program.
Dean Kim Clark, who presided over the outdoor ceremonies this afternoon on the School's Boston campus, also handed out diplomas to four Doctor of Business Administration degree recipients. In addition, Harvard Business School, in conjunction with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, awarded 10 Ph.D degrees in the areas of Business Economics and Organizational Behavior.
Prospects in the job market improved for the Class of 2004, compared to the previous class. Preliminary estimates suggest that approximately 91.4 percent of graduates received a job offer by graduation day -- an increase from 87.7 percent for the Class of 2003. Estimates also show that about 82.8 percent of graduates accepted a job by graduation, up from 77.6 percent last year.
Among the 889 MBA degree recipients, 46 -- or the top five percent of the class -- graduated with high distinction as Baker Scholars, named after the School's first benefactor, George Fisher Baker. An additional 50 received their diplomas with distinction in the top ten percent of the class.
During Class Day ceremonies on Wednesday, General Motors Chairman & CEO G. Richard Wagoner (MBA 1977) observed that one's professional journey can be just as rewarding as reaching a final destination, and provided students with advice on five key challenges that all business professionals are likely to face during the course of their careers (full story in The Harvard Crimson). Wagoner also acknowledged that this year's class had, two years ago, successfully endured perhaps the most rigorous application process -- having been winnowed down from an applicant pool of 10,382, the largest in School history.
One of those who made the cut two years ago was J. Dan Heath, who delivered a tongue-in-cheek address to his classmates as part of the Class Day ceremonies.
The class honored four faculty members for excellence in teaching and advising: Assistant Professor Rawi Abdelal, Assistant Professor Joshua Margolis, Professor André Perold, and Associate Professor Jan Rivkin.