Harvard Business School To Dedicate New Executive Education Home

Harvard Business School Tata Hall

Harvard Business School Tata Hall

Harvard Business School said it will dedicate on Monday (Dec. 9) its new executive education home named after Ratan Tata, the former chairman of India’s Tata Group and a 1975 graduate of the school’s Advanced Management Program. It will be the 34th separate building on the Harvard Business School campus.

The new facility, located on the northeast corner of the school’s campus in Allston, will give Harvard the most up-to-date executive education facilities in the world. Executive education is big business at the school. In 2012, the school’s 79 open enrollment and 49 custom programs drew 9,891 participants and brought in revenues of $143 million, up from $132 million a year earlier.

The school said that Tata Hall “will enhance and extend the School’s portfolio of executive education program facilities. The building will house executives who come from around the globe to advance their education and then return to strengthen their organizations, thus furthering the HBS mission to educate involved leaders around the world.”

“We look forward to welcoming remarkable leaders and contributing to their ability to make a profound difference in the world,” said Nohria in a statement. At a celebratory dedication, Nohria will join Tata, Harvard President Drew Faust, former Dean Jay Light, HBS alumnus and benefactor “Dick” Spangler, and architect William Rawn.

TATA HAD GIVEN HBS THE LARGEST GIFT EVER FROM AN INTERNATIONAL DONOR

The building is named in honor of Ratan Tata, who served as chairman of Tata Sons Ltd. from 1991 until his retirement at the end of last year. The building was funded through generous gifts from the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust and the Tata Education and Development Trust. India’s Tata Group and its philanthropic interests had announced a gift of $50 million to the business school in October of 2010, the largest gift HBS has ever received from an international donor in the school’s then 102-year history.

“Harvard Business School is the preeminent place to be exposed to the world’s best thinking on management and leadership, and we are pleased that this gift will support the School’s educational mission to mold the next generation of global business leaders,” said Tata in the statement.

The seven-story, glass-and-stone building was designed by William Rawn Associates and built by Bond Construction. Tata Hall, with its distinctive arc shape, complements the School’s existing executive education facilities, which also include McArthur, Baker, and Mellon halls (residences), McCollum and Hawes halls (classrooms), and Glass Hall (administration).

The 161,000-square-foot building will feature two classrooms, 179 bedrooms, and three gathering spaces to enhance community among the nearly 10,000 participants who attend executive education programs each year.

“We’ve created a destination for professionals who are shaped by different backgrounds, yet seek an executive education experience unlike any other. That’s why Tata Hall is all about building connection,” said Rawn.

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