Johnson 75th

Going Live The school’s first website went live in 1995. Its URL was www.gsm.cornell.edu and the bare-bones content was largely drawn from printed materials for prospective students.

Accelerating an MBA In 1995, the Twelve-Month Option, now known as the One-Year MBA, was launched. It was an accelerated MBA program targeting applicants who held a professional certification or advanced degree.

Founding Entrepreneur Engineer, businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist David Duffield ’62, MBA ’64, founded PeopleSoft in 1987. He went on to launch another five companies, including Workday and Ridgeline. His broad support across the university enabled the construction of Cornell Engineering’s Duffield Hall. He was named Cornell Entrepreneur of the Year in 1996.

Dean Drives Growth Harvey J. Davidson, a 38-year-old accountant and partner in the Detroit office of Big Eight accounting firm Touche, Ross, became the school’s fifth dean in 1969. With the increasing popularity of the MBA degree, the school’s class size grew substantially during his 10-year deanship.

Immersion Brings Experience to the Forefront Launched in 1996 under the leadership of Professor Dick Conway, the Semester in Manufacturing, introduced immersion courses at Johnson. The semester-long course combined interactive visits to manufacturing facilities and workers’ unions with lectures, discussions, and team-based projects. An innovative approach to teaching, it became a model for subsequent immersion courses.

Fast Forward Dean Robert J. Swieringa, who had previously served as an accounting professor, returned to Johnson from the Financial Accounting Standards Board in 1997 to become the school’s ninth dean. Under his leadership, Johnson launched Fast Forward, a marketing campaign that captured the school’s spirit and growth: the school moved into its new home in Sage Hall; student enrollment grew by 60 percent; the faculty doubled from 47 to 101; and the budget tripled.

Park Fellows The Roy H. Park Leadership Fellows program was created in 1997 to attract high-caliber MBA students with outstanding leadership potential and a commitment to service. The program is funded by the Triad Foundation, which carries on the legacy of entrepreneur Roy H. Park and is led by his son, Triad president Roy H. Park Jr., MBA ’63. Both served on the Johnson Advisory Council and as advisors and benefactors across the university.

Iconic Sage Hall New Home for Johnson Cornell University President Hunter R. Rawlings III and Dean Swieringa presided over the formal dedication of Sage Hall as Johnson’s new home in October 1998. The weekend-long celebration brought together six Johnson deans, past and present, and more than 950 attendees. The renovation had included cleaning the building’s brickwork and its brilliant color was a surprise, even to architectural scholars.

Parker Center Brings Wall Street to Sage Hall Named in honor of a gift from Jeffrey P. Parker ’65, MEng ’66, MBA ’70, the Parker Center for Investment Research opened with a state-of-the-art trading room in 1998 in the newly renovated Sage Hall. The student-managed Cayuga MBA Fund launched the same year with funding from the class of 1998 and a small circle of initial investors.

Executive MBA The first Executive MBA program launched in July 1999, offering senior-level professionals a weekend MBA program in Palisades, NY, just outside of New York City.