Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

History

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business was first formed in 1888 as the college's Commercial Department. The first students graduated from the course in 1894.

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

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 to people in business and industry throughout Utah comparable to those being 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 all over 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. It includes a three-story classroom base, and six additional stories of faculty offices, seminar rooms and other facilities.

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.

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. The school hopes to model itself after Jon Huntsman, Sr.'s alma mater, the prestigious Wharton School of Business located at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Jon M. Huntsman School of Business now offers 10 undergraduate majors, six graduate degrees, with faculty and staff totaling 136 members.

Location

The George S. Eccles Business Building is located on USU's main campus in Logan. In 2008, the building underwent a major renovation made possible by a grant of $1 million from the George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Foundation, along with $10,000 from the Associated Students of USU, additional funds from USU and the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business itself.

In 2011, the Utah Legislature approved funding for a new business building to be located south of the Eccles Business Building. The new building was funded by $16 million in private funds and $14 million in state funds. The 100,000-square-foot (9,300 m²) building will include classrooms, faculty offices, a business library, and three new business centers.

Academics

The Huntsman School of Business offers graduate and undergraduate degrees the fields of management, accounting, economics and finance, and management information systems (MIS). The school of accountancy has picked up Top 5 rankings in CPA exam scores by its grad students, as well as its Institute of Management Accountants, which has received a "Gold Level Award of Excellence" for each of the past 14 years, essentially making it the top such institute in the nation. In addition, the student accounting club Alpha Beta Psi has won the Superior Chapter Award for 32 consecutive years — also the longest streak in the nation. Outside of accounting, the Huntsman School widely touts its travel programs, including the unique Huntsman Scholar Program.

Programs and Centers

Students

Undergraduate students receive an average starting salary of $45,373 per year after graduation from the school. Graduate students earn an average starting salary of $53,298 per year.

Seventy-five percent of Huntsman students work 10 or more hours a week while attending school. Many students own their own business and generate income from their businesses while in school. Nine percent of graduating Huntsman students report owning their own business currently or previously. Many Huntsman students participate in the Utah State University Honors Program to supplement their educational experience.

A club that is called The Society for the Advancement of Ethical Leadership (SAEL) often draws dozen of students to its meeting. There, the students discuss some of the philosophical and ethical issues raised in books they are asked to read before attending the meeting. Students also have the opportunity to participate in the Huntsman School's Ethics Leadership Day and in the Partners In Business' Ethical Leadership Seminar.

A recent poll found that 60 percent of Huntsman students speak a second language. Students at the school speak 47 languages, and 46 percent of students have lived in a foreign country for at least six months.

Student Clubs and Organizations

Faculty

In 2010, Utah State University and the Huntsman School of Business announced that Stephen R. Covey would join its faculty as the school's first Jon M. Huntsman Presidential Chair. Covey is the author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People and numerous other books. School officials say it has long been the aim of the Huntsman School of Business to teach basic principles such as ethical leadership and integrity.

Alumni

With more than 24,000 graduates of the Huntsman School, Huntsman alumni can be found in all 50 states and in 44 countries. Prominent alumni in business include Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CEO, James H. Quigley, late football Hall of Famer and media personality Merlin Olsen, president of Nike brand, Charlie Denson, and Senior VP of Human Resources for Disney and ABC, Steve Milovich.