Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration Records

The Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration was established in 1938 under the name: Training Course in Personnel Administration. The program was designed with the purpose of enabling women to enter positions in human resource departments. The eleven-month program was a great success, combining academic courses with practical work experience.

The success of the program, initially established by its first director Edith G. Stedman, was carried on by Anne Hood Harken, who in 1941 became the next director of the program. Harken was present for many changes within the program, specifically its curriculum. In 1942, a committee which included members of Harvard Business School was appointed to evaluate the program. After some deliberation, the committee recommended that an increase in class size and an alteration to the program’s curriculum was necessary to emphasize work in industrial and government organizations. As a result of this decision the program was renamed in 1944 to Management Training Program in order to emphasize the broader value of educating for management positions.

The continuing success of the program was reflected by a significant, yet brief, post-war enrollment boom. By 1951, the number of students enrolled in the program began to decrease causing great instability in the program’s financial future. The end result of the instability was the decision made by the President and Council of the Radcliffe College to discontinue the program. However, when Harvard Business School was made aware of the decision the school decided to intervene.

Harvard Business School worked out a joint administrative agreement with Radcliffe College to continue the program by formally assuming direction of the educational policy. The agreement also outlined that Harvard Business School would absorb a portion of the financial cost in order to continue the program. The partnership between the two schools was further emphasized when, in 1955, the Radcliffe Management Training Program was renamed the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration.

In 1959, the faculty of Harvard Business School voted to admit qualified graduates of the Harvard-Radcliffe Program in Business Administration into the second year MBA program at Harvard Business School. On January 16, 1963 the termination of the Harvard Radcliffe Program in Business Administration was announced and became effective in June of 1963. At the same time, Harvard Business School faculty voted to admit women directly into the full MBA program.