Stanford Business Magazine

Explore the Centennial issue of Stanford Business — and see how people from all corners of the Stanford GSB community are coming together to change lives, organizations, and the world.

GSB 100 logo designed by Tricia Seibold

Pioneers of Stanford GSB

Profiles and untold stories of Stanford GSB community members who blazed trails and broke barriers on campus and beyond

A Letter From the Dean

“Our charge is to ensure the GSB remains not just relevant but essential.”

Back to Class: Investment Management and Entrepreneurial Finance

Jack McDonald created a master class on investing that’s still paying dividends nearly 60 years later.

Things That Would Not Exist Without Stanford GSB Alums

Air Jordans, “The Bachelor,” Jell-O Jigglers, and 60 other inventions, products, and breakthroughs made possible by our grads

Circling Back on 70 Years of Impactful Buzzwords

A deep dive into the business buzzwords that have popped up at Stanford GSB

Office Artifact: George G.C. Parker’s 1977 GSB Yearbook Cover

A yearbook cover sparks memories for this Stanford GSB finance professor

100 Years of Innovation

Some of the milestones, moments, and memories that define the GSB’s first century

Illustration by Victoria Tentler-Krylov

Podcast

GSB at 100

In this four-part Centennial podcast series, you’ll hear faculty, staff, alumni, and students talking about what has made Stanford GSB the place that it is today.

Flocking Around Art

This statue has had a bird’s-eye view of over half a century of Stanford GSB history.

Shining a Spotlight on Alumni Catalysts

Showcasing alumni who have helped create a legacy of impact

Stanford GSB’s PhD Alumni by the Numbers

Since 1931, more than 1,100 people have earned doctoral degrees at Stanford GSB.

Stanford GSB Students and Grads by the Numbers

Stats and charts provide a glimpse of students and alums over the years.

Together Again

From social groups to venture funds, Stanford GSB alumni have continued their bonds far beyond graduation.

We Asked Our Community What Makes Stanford GSB Stand Out

Faculty and alumni contemplate the past, present, and future of the business school.

James C. “Jim” Van Horne, a Pillar of Stanford GSB, Dies at Age 90

A legacy of knowledge, mentorship, and inspiration

Class Nopes: Six Fictional Stanford GSB Grads

A soap opera heartthrob, a Silicon Valley dealmaker, and other fantasy MBAs

“There Was a Revolution Here”: 100 Years of Business Education

How Stanford GSB’s MBA program kept perfecting the best way to teach future business leaders — in just two years.

Then and Now

To picture how the GSB has changed (and stayed the same), we recreated some classic campus shots — with a modern twist.

Hands-On Learning

In Stanford GSB’s early days, the top industry for alums centered around the factory floor.

Editor’s Note

The GSB got off to a good start in 1925, but something was missing: It did not have a magazine. That changed in January 1932, when, as Dean J. Hugh Jackson observed, the school’s faculty and graduates realized “it would be advantageous to start an alumni publication of some kind.”

The first issue of what was then called the Alumni Bulletin dropped in the thick of the Depression. “Everyone is glad that 1931 is behind us,” it noted, yet the 10-page mimeograph still struck an upbeat tone. “The tomorrow is yours,” it exhorted GSB alums (all 62 of them). “Use it to improve and stabilize our world-wide business fabric, and thus to better and enrich the condition of all mankind.”

The language may be outdated, but that message of optimism and purpose will be instantly familiar to everyone in the GSB community. It’s a message that’s been refreshed, rephrased, and repackaged countless times over the school’s 100-year history. And it’s a message that runs throughout this Centennial edition of Stanford Business.

We look back at the GSB’s first 100 years and celebrate the people who shaped it and the ideas and innovations they produced. We hope you’ll see something of yourself in here and learn something new. If you’re looking for inspiration from the past, flip to the timeline of GSB history and the profiles of pioneering GSB alums and faculty. For stories of impact, check out the Alumni Catalysts, alumni inventors and founders, and faculty breakthroughs. Want a bit of nostalgia? Gather at The Birds, get in touch with your feelings in Interpersonal Dynamics, sit in on Jack McDonald’s iconic investing class, or see our re-creations of photos from the archives. Throughout these pages, you’ll see how the school has changed to meet the times while also staying true to its mission.

Collecting these stories has been a lot of fun, though it feels like we’ve only scratched the surface. The good news is that the story of the GSB is far from over. Tomorrow is still yours.

— Dave Gilson