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History of the Industrial Administration Department 1955-1980 (pdf)
By W.H. Thompson, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, School of Business Administration, Iowa State University

College of Business Timeline

2009

  • PhD in Business and Technology launches in fall 2009 with an inaugural class of 8 students
  • Labh Hira installed as the first Raisbeck Endowed Dean
  • College of Business celebrates its 25th Anniversary as a college
  • Differential tuition for junior and senior business majors charged for the first time; revenue used to fund additional faculty positions to reduce core course sizes
  • Russell and Ann Gerdin announce $1.1 million gift to support the college's new PhD program, Gerdin Citizenship Program, and Communications Center
  • Iowa State's undergraduate entrepreneurship program earns top honors from the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship as a National Model Undergraduate Entrepreneurship Program
  • College establishes Russ and Ann Gerdin Award to honor contributions from its valuable corporate partners or successful individuals who are not College of Business graduates

2008

  • David and Ellen Raisbeck announce a $3 million gift to create Iowa State University's second endowed deanship

2007

  • Campaign Iowa State: With Pride and Purpose launched, with a $42 million goal for the College of Business
  • Gerdin Citizenship Program launched
  • Jim Heckmann named state director of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers
  • Business economics undergraduate major added in partnership with the Department of Economics in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

2006

  • Communications Center established to improve communication skills among graduates with business degrees
  • Iowa State University and the Pappajohn Center ranked by The Princeton Review and Entrepreneur magazine as the 24th best program nationally for students who want to become entrepreneurs

2004

  • Gerdin Business Building Dedicated February 20
  • John Ganoe, executive vice president corporate development of Wells Fargo and Company, was the spring Executive in Residence
  • College of Business and the College of Engineering offer a new Engineering BS/MBA concurrent degree
  • Two new MBA specializations announced in international business and supply chain management
  • Double degree offered in MBA/Master of Science in Information Systems
  • College hosts first Marketing Distinguished Speaker Series
  • College hosts Big 12 MIS Symposium in April

2003

  • Kathryn Wieland is named director of Business Career Services
  • College announces partnership with Iowa Manufacturing Extension Partnership (IMEP) creating the Business Partnership Development Program.
  • The College of Business and the College of Agriculture offer a minor in Sustainable Agriculture for the Ag MBA program
  • New interdisciplinary program for a Master of Science and Ph.D. in Human Computer Interaction announced
  • Ruan Chair in Transportation and Logistics (Deferred) established
  • Raisbeck Professorship/Chair established
  • The College of Business and the College of Family and Consumer Sciences offer a new MBA specialization in Family Financial Planning
  • Ric Jurgens, CEO, president, COO of Hy-Vee, Inc., was the fall Executive in Residence
  • Entrepreneurial Learning Community announced

2002

  • Labh S. Hira appointed dean
  • Jon Ryan named state director of the Iowa Small Business Development Centers
  • Deloris Wright Endowed Chair in Finance (Deferred) established
  • First part-time MBA students graduate
  • 10th anniversary of the full-time MBA program
  • Gary M. Christensen, president and CEO of Pella Corporation, was the fall Executive in Residence

2001

  • Masters of Information Systems program launched
  • Benjamin Allen moves to interim external affairs vice president for Iowa State University
  • Labh S. Hira named interim dean
  • Groundbreaking and Iowa Regents approve name for the Gerdin Business Building
  • Orville and Kay Steil Professorship (Deferred) established
  • David J. Robino, former vice chairman of Gateway, Inc., was the spring Executive in Residence

2000

  • College of Business ranks 3rd in enrollment
  • John and Ruth DeVries establish the John and Ruth DeVries Endowed Chair in Business
  • Re-accreditation by AACSB
  • College offers e-commerce certificate
  • Gerdin Business Building receives Regents approval
  • Masters of Accounting program was approved by Iowa Board of Regents
  • C. Richard Stark, president of Iowa Commodities, Ltd., was the spring Executive in Residence

1999

  • Regents approve an ISU Des Moines part-time MBA program
  • Productions/Operations Management major established
  • Steve and Becky Smith Endowed Chairs in Business (Deferred) established
  • Dermot Hayes  named Pioneer Hi-Bred International Agribusiness Chair
  • Roger G. Darcy, senior vice president of General Mills, Incorporated, was the Voorhees Lecture guest speaker

1998

  • College of Business initiative launched with $10 million gift from Russell and Ann Gerdin
  • CyTech Challenge established
  • The Union Pacific Professorship for Information Systems established
  • R. Brad Martin, chairman and CEO of Saks, Incorporated was the fall Executive in Residence

1997

  • Dennis Purdum, vice chairman of Ernst and Young LLP, was the spring Executive in Residence
  • Steve Carter named director of the Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship

1996

  • Michael J. Birck, founder, president, and CEO of Tellabs. was the first Executive in Residence
  • Pappajohn Center for Entrepreneurship established
  • Roger P. Murphy Professorship in Accounting (Deferred) established
  • Richard O. Jacobson, founder, president, and CEO of Jacobson Warehouse and Jacobson Transportation, was the fall Executive in Resident

1995

  • Benjamin J. Allen named dean of College of Business
  • Business Day becomes Business Week

1994

  • Tenth anniversary of the College of Business
  • Benjamin J. Allen named interim dean of College of Business
  • Dean David L. Shrock leaves for University of South Carolina
  • Thomas Donohue, president and CEO of the American Trucking Association, was the Voorhees Distinguished Lecture Series guest speaker

1993

  • Management Information Systems major established
  • R. Dale Voorhees Lecture Series inaugurated
  • Murray G. Bacon Center for Ethics in Business dedicated
  • U.S. Information Agency training and development grant received

1992

  • National Science foundation research grant received

1991

  • College receives initial American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation
  • Name changed to College of Business
  • Pre-business students transferred to the college
  • U.S. Agency for International Development interdisciplinary training and development grant received
  • Donna J. Fuller Endowed Accounting Professorship (Deferred) established

1990

  • First College development director named

1989

  • Principal Computer Laboratory opened
  • Dean Charles B. Handy retires
  • David L. Shrock named dean

1988

  • Union Pacific/Charles B. Handy Professorship established
  • Max Wortman named Pioneer Hi-Bred International Agribusiness Chair
  • Benjamin Allen named first director of the Midwest Transportation Center funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation
  • Arthur Andersen Computer Laboratory opened

1987

  • First transportation conference held with keynote speaker Elizabeth H.Dole, U.S. Secretary of Transportation

1986

  • Center for Professional and Executive Development (CPED) established
  • First Fulbright Scholar at College of Business Administration
  • Iowa Small Business Development Centers transferred to College

1985

  • MBA Program approved by Board of Regents and first students admitted
  • Student-run Business Day inaugurated

1984

  • July 1: College of Business Administration officially formed
  • Pioneer Hi-Bred International Agribusiness Chair established
  • Career Development and Placement Office established
  • College of Business Administration Citation of Achievement established
  • John D. DeVries Service Award established
  • First BBA degrees awarded to 205 fall semester College of Business Administration graduates

1983

  • Board of Regents approves the formation of the College of Business Administration

1980

  • School of Business Administration formed

1978

  • Charles B. Handy named as head of business programs

1975

  • Lynn J. Loudenback named department chair

1969

  • Department moves into Carver Hall

1968

  • William H. Thompson named department chair

1959

  • Department of Industrial Administration becomes a part of the new College of Science and Humanities

1955

  • William H. Schrampfer named department head
  • Department of Industrial Administration established January 15

1953

  • The accounting program qualifies as a major for the CPA examination

Late 1930s

  • Name changed to Industrial Economics in the Department of Economics and Sociology

1929 - 1930

  • Name changed from Business Engineering to Engineering Economics

1920s

  • Business courses offered in the Department of Economics