Raymond J. Harbert College of Business facts for kids

The Harbert College of Business is a special school at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. It's often called Harbert College for short. It started in 1967 and helps students earn degrees for jobs in business. It's one of 12 main schools at Auburn University.

In 2013, the college was named after Raymond J. Harbert. He and his wife, Kathryn, gave a huge gift of $40 million to the college. Harbert College is a very large business school. It has over 7,000 students and many teachers and staff members.

How Harbert College Began

Early Leaders and Big Steps

• In 1967, O.D. “Jack” Turner became the first leader, or dean, of Auburn University's new School of Business. It was located in Thach and Tichenor Halls. During his time, the number of teachers grew from 42 to 69. A special group called the Business Advisory Council was also started. This helped the school get ready for important approvals.

• In 1973, George Horton became the second dean. He was a leader with big ideas and served for 11 years. He helped make the business program one of the best in Alabama. He also encouraged teachers to do more research. He guided the school through the approval process with AACSB.

• The third dean, Charles Kroncke, served for two years (1986-1988). During this time, the School of Business became the College of Business. A special Ph.D. program in Management was also created. The number of teachers grew to 111, and student enrollment reached 3,600.

• In 1989, Danny Bellenger became the fourth dean. For three years, he focused on growing the advanced doctoral programs. He also started a program for people to give money to the college each year.

• C. Wayne Alderman was the fifth dean from 1993 to 2000. He helped make the college's reputation even better. He also helped start special programs like the Executive MBA.

• Paul Bobrowski served as the sixth dean from 2004 to 2010. By the end of his time, the college's MBA program was ranked 35th in the country. It was also ranked 75th worldwide by the Financial Times.

• Bill Hardgrave's time as dean saw amazing growth. He started the Office of Professional and Career Development. This was the first career help center inside a college at Auburn. He also helped create the Master of Real Estate Development program. New Ph.D. programs in Business Analytics and Finance were launched. The well-known RFID lab also opened. The college received the huge $40 million gift from Raymond and Kathryn Harbert. Because of this, the college was renamed in Mr. Harbert's honor. Another big gift from Harbert helped build a new building for graduate programs. This building is now called Horton-Hardgrave Hall.

• In 2018, Annette Ranft became the eighth dean. During her three years, Harbert College had many new students. A new supply chain management department was launched. The number of teachers in important areas grew by 25 percent. The New Venture Accelerator also opened in Auburn's Research Park.

• In 2024, Jennifer Mueller-Phillips became the ninth dean of Harbert College. She used to lead the School of Accountancy. She also worked to help students get scholarships. She is currently both the dean and a special professor.

College Buildings

The Harbert College of Business is located in two main buildings. These are Lowder Hall and Horton-Hardgrave Hall. Both are on the Auburn University campus.

Lowder Hall

Lowder Hall has offices for teachers and staff. It also has modern classrooms and labs for learning. The building is named after Edward and Catherine Lowder. Edward Lowder graduated from Auburn in 1932. He later became a successful businessman. His three sons also graduated from the College of Business.

Horton-Hardgrave Hall

Horton-Hardgrave Hall (HHH) opened in 2019. This building is mainly for Harbert College's graduate programs. It also has spaces for classes and events. The building is very large, about 100,000 square feet. It is named after two past deans, George Horton and Bill Hardgrave. The building was built thanks to donations. A big gift of $15 million came from Raymond Harbert and his wife, Kathryn.

New Venture Accelerator

In 2020, Auburn University opened the New Venture Accelerator. This place helps people start and grow new businesses. Students and future business owners learn how to study markets and find investors. They also learn how to present their business ideas. Experts called Entrepreneurs-in-Residence guide them. The New Venture Accelerator is managed by Harbert College and the Auburn Research and Technology Foundation.

What Undergraduates Study

For the 2024–2025 school year, Harbert College of Business has 6,180 undergraduate students. These students are studying in nine different programs. These include marketing, supply chain management, and finance.

By the time they graduate, 90% of students have real-world experience. This means they have worked in business settings. The average starting salary for a Harbert College of Business graduate is about $61,381. Each year, $1.65 million is given to students in scholarships.

Graduate Programs

For the 2024–2025 school year, Harbert College of Business has 977 students in Master's and Graduate Certificate programs. Harbert College offers many Master's programs. These include the Online MBA, Master of Real Estate Development, and Master of Accountancy.

Ph.D. Programs

Harbert College also has doctoral (Ph.D.) programs. These programs prepare students for jobs as university professors. Students can earn a Ph.D. in areas like Finance and Supply Chain Management.

More than 55,000 people who studied at Harbert College now live all over the world. For the 2024–2025 school year, students from 33 different countries are studying at Harbert College.

College Rankings

Harbert College Undergraduate Program Rankings

Harbert College Graduate Program Rankings

Special Faculty Scholars

Teachers at Harbert College of Business do important research. They also help shape the future of business. They are dedicated to helping students become great business leaders. Among these teachers are seven special scholars:

• Brian Connelly, Luck Eminent Scholar: Management
• O.C. Ferrell, James T. Pursell, Sr. Eminent Scholar of Ethics: Marketing
• Jimmy, Hilliard, Harbert Eminent Scholar: Finance
• Dave Ketchen, Harbert Eminent Scholar: Management
• Franz Lohrke, Lowder Eminent Scholar: Entrepreneurship
• David Paradice, Harbert Eminent Scholar: Business Analytics
• Glenn Richey, Harbert Eminent Scholar: Supply Chain Management

Famous Alumni

Many successful people have graduated from Harbert College. Here are a few:

• Donald J. Boudreaux (1986), an economist
• Raymond J. Harbert (1982), a successful businessman and the person the college is named after
• Don Logan (1966), former CEO of Time Inc.
• Mark Spencer (1999), creator of Asterisk PBX
• Mark Thornton (1989 Ph.D.), an economist
• Jimmy Wales (1989), co-founder of Wikipedia
• Michael S. Rogers, a high-ranking admiral in the United States Navy
• Jack Driscoll (2019), an NFL player for the Philadelphia Eagles
• Harold Melton, former Chief Justice of the Georgia Supreme Court
• Jeannie Leavitt (2002), a United States Air Force general officer and the first woman fighter pilot in the USAF
• Mohamed Mansour (1971), an Egyptian billionaire businessman
• Youssef Mansour (1972), an Egyptian billionaire businessman
• Joe Hortiz (1998), 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