Harvard Business School Breaks Ground For New Executive Education Center
(LtoR): Roger Goldstein, Goody Clancy; The Honorable Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister of Australia; The Honorable Mitch McConnell, Republican Leader of U.S. Senate; Dean Nitin Nohria, Harvard Business School; President Drew Faust, Harvard University; Dr. James S. C. Chao, Chairman, Foremost Group; The Honorable Elaine Chao, 24th U.S. Secretary of Labor 2001-2009; Angela Chao, Deputy Chairman, Foremost Group; The Honorable Tiankai Cui, Chinese Ambassador to the USA; Sen. Ed Markey.Photo: Susan Young BOSTON—Harvard Business School (HBS) broke ground today on its campus in Boston for the construction of a new Executive Education facility—the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center. The ceremony included remarks by Harvard University President Drew Gilpin Faust, Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao (MBA 1979), former Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd, U.S. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), and the Honorable Cui Tiankai, China’s ambassador to the United States. View VideoThe Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, a 90,000-square-foot, four-story structure that will contain meeting rooms, office and dining facilities as well as classrooms, is the result of a $40 million gift from a Dr. James Si-Cheng Chao and Family Foundation. This generous gift was given in tribute to the life and legacy of the late Ruth Mulan Chu Chao, beloved matriarch of this most prominent and accomplished Chinese-American family. “It is fitting that this campus will have a building bearing the name of Ruth Mulan Chu Chao,” noted Harvard President Drew Faust. “What happens inside this building—the exchange of ideas, the transfer of knowledge, the broadening of minds—will be a living tribute to those things she and her husband held so dear and passed on to their daughters.” Chao family patriarch Dr. James S. C. Chao said, “Our family is so pleased to be here on the auspicious occasion of the groundbreaking of the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center. We are grateful to America for welcoming us and giving our family so many opportunities. We are grateful to the culture of our ancestral land, China, because its emphasis on education and family provided Ruth and me with such a strong foundation.” He added, “We believe this Center will embody Ruth’s spirit and become a dynamic meeting place for members of the University community from all over the world, which will enable them to better understand one another to build a better world.” 
(LtoR): Dean Nitin Nohria, President Drew Faust, Dr. James S. C. Chao, The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, and Angela Chao Photo: Susan Young Dr. James S. C. Chao and Mrs. Ruth Mulan Chu Chao’s family is the only family in HBS history to have had four daughters attend the School: The Honorable Elaine Chao; May Chao; Grace Chao; Angela Chao. This gift was made on April 12, 2012 during the 50th anniversary celebration of the admission of women to Harvard’s two-year MBA program and the 375th anniversary of Harvard University. It will be the first building named after a woman on the Harvard campus and the first building named after an American of Chinese descent. As part of the gift, the Chao family has also endowed the Ruth Mulan Chu and James S. C. Chao Family Fellowship Fund to outstanding students in need. Angela Chao, the youngest of the Chao daughters said, “My mother was a great advocate of education and my family hopes her spirit of love, service, and philanthropy will inspire everyone who enters this Center.” The Honorable Elaine Chao added: “My mother believed in the transformational power of education. In an increasingly global and interconnected world, we hope this Center will help cultivate a new generation of outstanding leaders whose familiarity and understanding of the international environment will help create a better and more peaceful future for everyone.” Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria, who has made internationalization a top priority, believes that the Chao Center will symbolize the school’s growing emphasis on the international arena. “If the 20th century was the American century for business, the 21st century is decidedly a global century, and Harvard Business School must be the place where the world's best thinking about business and management practice takes place,” he said. “The Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center will be the gateway to our campus for generations of executives from all over the world and we are deeply grateful for the extraordinary generosity of the Chao family in making this a reality”. 
(LtoR): Christine Chao, May Chao, Dean Nitin Nohria, Dr. James S. C. Chao, The Honorable Elaine L. Chao, Angela Chao, and Grace ChaoPhoto: Susan Young The new building is being designed by architectural firm Goody-Clancy and will be located on the site of the current Kresge Building. When completed in 2016, the building will serve as the gateway to Harvard Business School for the more than 10,000 executives from around the world who attend programs on campus each year. It will also be a vibrant hub that enables Executive Education participants to meet with one another, with faculty, guests and with students from the School’s MBA and Doctoral programs. Background on Dr. James S. C. Chao and Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Family: |
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Founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University, Harvard Business School is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston. Its faculty of more than 250 offers full-time programs leading to the MBA and PhD degrees, as well as more than 175 Executive Education programs, and Harvard Business School Online, the School’s digital learning platform. For more than a century, faculty have drawn on their research, their experience in working with organizations worldwide, and their passion for teaching, to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. The School and its curriculum attract the boldest thinkers and the most collaborative learners who will go on to shape the practice of business and entrepreneurship around the globe.