Dean Nitin Nohria

After agreeing to stay on through the end of 2020 due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, Dean Nohria was succeeded as Dean by the School’s eleventh dean, Srikant M. Datar, on January 1, 2021.

Dean Nohria’s Anti-Racism Task Force of faculty, staff, students, and alumni resolved to take action to promote racial equity on campus and in the world.

The DIALOGUE conference convened leaders from around the world to discuss how collectively they could shift perspectives from “us and them” to “we,” to present realities about “what is,” and to spur ideas and actions to bring about “what could be.”

Made possible by a gift from The Gerald Schwartz (MBA 1970) & Heather Reisman Foundation, this outdoor hub of community life serves as the location for events, socialization, recreation, and reflection.

The School rebranded its online offerings to Harvard Business School Online to raise awareness and extend its reach.

The School introduced two new joint degrees: MS/MBAs in Biotechnology: Life Sciences (In conjunction with HMS, GSAS, and FAS) and in Engineering Sciences (in conjunction with SEAS).

Made possible by a gift from Seth (MBA 1982) and Beth Klarman, this dynamic convening space provides a venue for the exchange of ideas among students, faculty, staff, alumni, and leaders of organizations from across the globe.

The 50th anniversary of the founding of the African-American Student Union was used as a year-long opportunity for reflection and to conduct new research, convene thought leaders, and undertake initiatives to advance African American business leaders.

The Pagliuca Harvard Life Lab is a shared laboratory space for high-potential life sciences and biotech startups founded by Harvard faculty, alumni, students, and postdoctoral scholars. The two-story, 15,000-square-foot facility on Harvard’s Allston campus is a fully-equipped and permitted laboratory and office space for early-stage companies and is adjacent to the Harvard i-lab and Launch Lab.

A joint offering of Harvard Business School, the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), this online certificate program is designed for experienced professionals who wish to expand their knowledge and capabilities in data and analytics.

The School opened the Africa Research Center in Johannesburg, South Africa to help develop and strengthen relationships with business and academic leaders across sub-Saharan Africa.

The Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center was designed to serve as the gateway and gathering hub for the more than 10,000 executives who attend Executive Education courses on campus each year.

The Robert and Myra Kraft Family Foundation pledged $20 million to advance the use of the human genome in developing individualized treatment of serious diseases. The resulting Kraft Precision Medicine Accelerator convened more than 300 thinkers and front-line doers and disruptors to develop business strategies to take full advantage of future opportunities.

Focusing on candidates with STEM majors or from women’s colleges, Peek Weekend was designed to give current college sophomores, juniors, and seniors insight into the MBA program.

Renamed Harvard Business School Live Online Classrooms in 2019, the HBX Live Classroom was created as a way to use the case method with participants in different locations. The faculty teach from the physical classroom while participants connect online from anywhere in the world, engaging in real-time.

The Race, Gender & Equity Initiative was launched to support research and teaching intended to transform practice, enable leaders to drive change, and eradicate gender, race, and other forms of inequality in business and society.

The School publicly launched a campaign to raise $1 billion over five years as part of Harvard University’s $6.5 billion campaign, reaching that goal in 2018.

HBX, renamed HBS Online in 2019, introduced an innovative platform to support the delivery of distinctive online business-focused offerings, including HBX CORe, a primer on the fundamentals of business.

Named in honor of Ratan N. Tata (AMP 71, 1975), Tata Hall was designed to enhance and expand the School’s Executive Education portfolio with residential space, classrooms, and common areas for participants.

The MENA Research Center was opened in Istanbul to help the School develop and strengthen relationships with business and academic leaders in the Middle East, Turkey, North Africa, and Central Asia in support of faculty research and student programming.

In honor of 50 years of women in its two-year MBA Program, the School undertook a comprehensive survey of alumnae about their career and life choices, a case on the history of women at the School, a research symposium, and an alumni summit to delve deeply and broadly into the issues women face in business.

A research-led effort launched to generate ideas and actions that boost the ability of companies in the U.S. to compete in the global economy and raise American living standards.

The Innovation Lab, or i-lab, was opened to foster team-based interactions among students from across Harvard University interested in exploring entrepreneurship and innovation. Batten Hall, named in honor of media pioneer Frank Batten (MBA 1952), also introduced classrooms developed for small-group exercises and team-based learning, particularly to support MBA field method courses.

The Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD) year-long field course gave first-year MBA students meaningful opportunities to act like leaders, translating their ideas into practice.

Named the tenth dean in May, Nohria assumed the new role on July 1.