Raymond J. Harbert College of Business facts for kids

The Raymond J. Harbert College of Business, often called Harbert College, is the business school at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. It's a place where students learn about how businesses work. The school was started in 1967 and offers different kinds of degrees for students. Since 2013, it has been named after Raymond J. Harbert, a former student who gave a lot of money to the school. Harbert College is one of the biggest business schools in the southeastern part of the United States. It has more than 6,000 students and over 53,000 people have graduated from there.

A Look Back: Harbert College's Story

The Harbert College of Business began in 1967 as a business school at Auburn University. Over time, it grew and offered more classes. In 1985, it became known as a "college" because it had expanded so much.

In June 2013, the college was renamed the Raymond J. Harbert College of Business. This happened because Raymond J. Harbert, who used to be a student there, gave $40 million to the school. This was a very generous gift! Later, in 2016, Raymond and Kathryn Harbert gave another $15 million. This money helped build a new, large business building on the Auburn campus.

In January 2018, Dean Bill Hardgrave, who had led the college for seven years, moved to a new job at Auburn University. Then, on August 1, 2018, Annette Ranft became the new dean. She was the seventh person to lead the college and the first woman to hold that important role. The number of students at Harbert College grew a lot, by 47 percent, between 2010 and 2018.

What Students Learn: Programs and Classes

The Harbert College of Business offers many different programs for students who want to learn about business. Students can earn several types of degrees. These include Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs, which are for people who want to become leaders in business. They have different MBA options, like full-time, part-time, and even online.

The college also offers other master's degree programs and Ph.D. programs. A Ph.D. is the highest degree you can get, and it's for students who want to become experts or researchers. Some of the subjects students can study include:

• Accountancy: Learning how to keep track of money for businesses.
• Finance: Understanding how money is managed and invested.
• Marketing: How businesses tell people about their products and services.
• Entrepreneurship: How to start and run your own business.
• Supply Chain Management: How products get from where they are made to the customers.

In June 2020, Harbert College even created a new department just for Supply Chain Management. Before this new department, their supply chain management program was already ranked as one of the top three in the country by a group called Gartner.

How Harbert College Ranks Among the Best

Harbert College is known for its strong programs. As of 2018, seven of its programs were ranked among the top ten in the entire nation! This means they are considered some of the best in the country.

Top Undergraduate Programs

The undergraduate program at Harbert College (for students getting their first college degree) has been highly ranked by different groups. For example, in 2022, U.S. News & World Report ranked the business program as the 49th best among all U.S. colleges. It was also ranked 34th among public universities.

In 2021, U.S. News & World Report also gave high rankings to specific undergraduate programs:

• Accounting: 25th in the nation
• Supply Chain: 20th in the nation

Great Graduate Programs

For graduate students (those getting a master's or Ph.D. after their first degree), Harbert College also has great rankings. In 2021, the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program was ranked #56 in the U.S. by U.S. News & World Report. It was in the top 30 among public universities.

The Financial Times ranked Harbert College's Executive Master of Business Administration (EMBA) program #99 globally in 2020. This means it was among the top EMBA programs in the world! The Princeton Review also ranked Harbert's online MBA program #19 in the nation in 2020. They even said Harbert was the #2 best business school for minority students. In 2014, U.S. News & World Report said the MBA program was #2 in the nation for its financial value, meaning it was a great investment for students.

Famous Faces: People from Harbert College

Many successful people have studied or taught at the Harbert College of Business. Here are a few notable alumni (former students) and faculty members:

• Donald J. Boudreaux (1986), an economist.
• John Brown (1957), who used to be the CEO of Stryker Corporation.
• Joe Forehand (1971), a former chairman and CEO of Accenture.
• John M. Harbert (1946), a businessman who founded Harbert Corporation.
• Raymond J. Harbert (1982), who founded and leads Harbert Management Corporation, and is the person the college is named after.
• Don Logan (1966), a former CEO of Time Inc.
• Mark Spencer (1999), who created Asterisk PBX.
• Jimmy Wales (1989), one of the people who helped start Wikipedia!
• Arthur L. Williams, Jr. (M.S.), an insurance executive.
• Michael S. Rogers, a United States Navy admiral and former director of the National Security Agency.
• Jack Driscoll, an NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles.
• Harold Melton, who was the Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court.
• Jeannie Leavitt, a United States Air Force general officer and the first woman fighter pilot in the USAF.
• Mohamed Mansour, an Egyptian billionaire businessman.
• Stacy Brown, who founded Chicken Salad Chick.
• Joe Hortiz, the General Manager of the Los Angeles Chargers NFL team.

See also

• List of United States business school rankings
• List of business schools in the United States