HBS Graduates Celebrate Commencement
Photo: Stuart Cahill

BOSTON — Harvard Business School (HBS) held its 98th Commencement exercises today. The Class of 2008 included 907 MBA candidates from more than 70 countries. In conjunction with the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, HBS also awarded 8 Ph.D. degrees -- three specializing in business economics, three in organizational behavior, and two in informational technology management. Four students were awarded doctorates in business administration.

The top five percent of the MBA Class (45 graduates) left HBS with high distinction as Baker Scholars, named after the School's first benefactor, George F. Baker. Sixty-
five students received their diplomas with distinction.

As part of the Class Day ceremony, the Class also honored four faculty members for excellence in teaching: Baker Foundation Professor Thomas R. Piper
(who teaches Financial Reporting and Control in the first-year required curriculum), Professor Jan W. Rivkin (Strategy in the required curriculum), Lecturer and Senior Researcher Stacey Childress (Entrepreneurship in Education Reform in the second-year elective curriculum), and Senior Lecturer Stephen P. Kaufman (Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise in the elective curriculum).

Dean Jay Light and Time Inc. Chairman
and CEO Ann Moore (MBA '78)
Photo: Stuart Cahill

Time Inc. Chairman and CEO Ann Moore (MBA '78) was the Distinguished Speaker at yesterday's Class Day exercises. She urged graduates to take risks during their careers, but also reminded them to have balance in their lives. Student speaker David Rawlinson reflected on his most memorable experiences at HBS.