Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

The business school was originally founded in 1888 as the college's Commercial Department. The first students graduated from the course in 1894 at a time when the only four-year business school in existence was the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

In its first two decades, the program went through several organizational revisions and name changes. By 1911, the program (then named School of Commerce) was already recognized as a leading business institution. A 1911 newspaper, reporting about the economics department, said:

When so eminent an authority as professor L. C. Marshall of the University of Chicago reports that the work in the department of economics of our school is comparable to that given in the best institutions in the country, we feel that we are paid one of the highest tributes ever. ... In the number of hours instruction given, the number of students in the courses, and the general standard of the courses, we are surpassed by only a very few of the large universities.

Old Main, the original home of the School

In 1918, the school became known as the School of Commerce and Business Administration. At that time, the school then included five departments: markets, business administration, accounting, political science, and history. Other majors continued to be added over time.

In 1952, under the direction of professor C. D. McBride, the Management Institute came into existence. Utah's economy was rapidly shifting from agriculture to business, and Utah State University, as the land-grant institution in Utah, had an obligation to provide educational services in business and industry throughout Utah comparable to those offered in agriculture and rural life through the Cooperative Extension Service. The Management Institute was in charge of providing the services of business educational services.

By 1957, the School of Commerce and Business Administration had become the College of Business and Social Sciences, with M. R. Merrill as dean. Of the four departments, three were strictly social science: history and political science, economics and sociology. In 1959, Robert P. Collier became acting dean. The college included the departments of business administration and secretarial science, history and political science, sociology and social work, and economics.

By 1966, business courses were taught in more than a dozen buildings on campus. Accounting, which had enjoyed department status early in the college's history but had been under business administration for many years, became a separate department again. In addition to the accounting department, the College of Business included six other departments along with The Division of Military Science and aerospace studies.

The time had come for the college to have its own building. The Utah Building Board approved a $600,000 federal grant for a business building, and on Jan. 11, 1967, the schematic plans for the building were approved by the USU Board of Trustees. The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Dec. 10, 1968, with a projected cost of $1,591,700 for the structure. On May 8, 1970, the building was dedicated as the George S. Eccles Business Building.

The Eccles Building reaches nine stories high. At the time of its building, it included a three-story classroom base, and six additional stories of faculty offices, seminar rooms and other facilities. The building has since gone through multiple renovations .

The undergraduate program of the College of Business was accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in 1971, and in 1981 the graduate (master's) program was accredited by AACSB.

In February 1983, the department of accounting became the school of accountancy. By 1986, the College of Business had a full-time enrollment of approximately 1,398 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs (Self-Study Report, 1986). Thirty-nine full-time faculty and 32 part-time faculty were employed in three departments: business administration, administrative systems and business education, and accounting. The department of economics remained under the joint administration of the colleges of business and agriculture.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business' north-facing entrances.

In 2007, Utah State's College of Business became the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business after a $26 million donation by the Huntsman Foundation.

On March 16, 2016, Jon M. Huntsman Hall was dedicated and opened. The building is a 125,000 square foot student-centered facility that provides 21 classrooms, 21 meeting spaces, faculty/administration offices and event spaces.

On May 6, 2017, the Huntsman School announced a joint $50 million gift from the Huntsman Foundation and the Charles Koch Foundation, the largest in the school's history.[1]

On November 2, 2018, The Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center was established; its purpose is to develop principle-centered leaders.

As of 2019, the Huntsman School offers 7 undergraduate majors and 6 graduate programs.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business completed construction on its expansion in 2016.

The George S. Eccles Business Building underwent a major renovation, in 2008, made possible by a grant of $1 million from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation.

In 2011, the Utah Legislature approved funding for a new business building, Jon M. Huntsman Hall, located southwest of the Eccles Business Building. The building was funded by $36 million in private funds and $14 million in state funds. The 125,000-square-foot building includes 21 classrooms, 21 student meeting rooms, office spaces and multiple event spaces.

The Huntsman School consists of five academic departments: Accounting, Economics and Finance, Management, Management Information Systems, Marketing and Strategy. As of 2019, the school has 105 faculty members and 63 staff members.

• The Center for Entrepreneurship offers classes, internships and competitions. Its programs include: Entrepreneurship Leadership and Huntsman Venture Forum Speaker Series, an entrepreneurship minor, the Small Enterprise Education and Development (SEED) internship program and various competitions. In 2019, the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (USASBE) awarded the School first place for Excellence in Co-Curricular Innovation for its Small Enterprise Education and Development (SEED) Program.
• FJ Management Center for Student Success brings together various student services, including academic student advising and career development under one organizational structure.
• Stephen R. Covey Leadership Center goal is to develop principle-centered leaders through its curriculum, co-curricular activities and coaching.
• Shingo Institute offers educational workshops and executive education programs, organizes study tours, hosts an annual conference, and annually awards the Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence.
• The Center for Growth and Opportunity trains undergraduate and graduate students, conducts economic research with a national network of scholars, and communicates transformative solutions to some of the country’s most pressing issues.   

• Huntsman Scholar Program is a selective honors undergraduate business program on the Logan campus. Students receive a stipend for up to four years, a fully funded global learning experience, and participate in curricular, co-curricular, and extra-curricular experiences. Students are assigned a faculty mentor and have the opportunity to build relationships with faculty, staff, alumni, and fellow students.
• Small Enterprise Education and Development Program (SEED) connects students with opportunities that teach enterprise creation and sustainability in Ghana, Guatemala, Peru, Philippines, and the Dominican Republic.
• Focused Fridays at the School are dedicated to job search workshops, technical training, keynote forums, and networking opportunities.
• Global Learning Experiences prepares students for an international business environment. Program options include summer programs to Asia and South America and spring break programs to London and Paris, and semester exchange programs and international internships.

On November 13, 2017, The Utah Statesman published an article[7] about the college secretly spending differential tuition without the permission of an advisory board. An amount totally over $8 million annually. At the Huntsman School of Business, students are required to annually pay $2,000+ more than other students at Utah State University, but these business students were told they get a voice in how that money will be spent. That voice would be the 3-5 students on the Advisory Board. But the board had never met, and when Business Senator Nadir Tekarli (student) tried to get the board to meet he was met with problems from administration. Due to the backlash following The Utah Statesman publication the administration caved and had their first Advisory Board meeting. This story has also been covered by the Salt Lake Tribune.[8]

As of April 29, 2019, this article is derived in whole or in part from the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business website. The copyright holder has licensed the content in a manner that permits reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 and GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

• Jon M. Huntsman School of Business
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