Happy 100th birthday, Hankamer School of Business!

Recognizing that the future would demand “better equipped men and women in the different fields of business,” Baylor President Samuel Palmer Brooks asked the Board in the early 1920s to approve the creation of a business school at Baylor University. In 1923, the School of Commerce and Business Administration — today, the Hankamer School of Business — was born.

This fall marks the beginning of Hankamer’s Centennial Celebration — looking back at 100 years of history, and ahead to what the future holds for Baylor Business. The Centennial celebration kicked off in October with a special show projected on the exterior of the Foster Campus (pictured above) that took viewers through the school’s 100-year history, followed by a Homecoming reception and parade entry earlier this month.

One hundred years ago, the business school welcomed just a small cohort of students across departments such as commerce, business administration, and economics. Classes were held in the first floor of Carroll Library (now home to Baylor’s Texas Collection). Today, students benefit from classes in the dazzling Foster Campus for Business and Innovation, and the most common majors for HSB’s roughly 4,000 students are accounting, finance, marketing, and the Business Fellows honors program.

Hankamer is also home to Baylor’s highest-ranked undergraduate academic program, entrepreneurship, which annually ranks among the nation’s top 10. Overall, HSB ranks in the top 12% of business schools nationwide, coming in at No. 62 out of more than 500 schools reviewed by U.S. News in their latest report. And the most recent data shows 95% of Hankamer undergraduates finding success quickly after graduation (either job placement or a place in graduate school within 180 days of Commencement).

Three Baylor Business graduate programs rank among U.S. News‘ top-20 nationally: HSB’s graduate program in entrepreneurship (No. 10), the U.S. Army-Baylor master’s degree program in health care management (No. 12), and Hankamer’s MBA in health care administration (No. 19). Overall, the Baylor MBA program ranks among the top 15% nationally (No. 60 out of almost 500 schools).

“A lot has happened over the past century,” says Dr. Sandeep Mazumder, Hankamer’s William E. Crenshaw Endowed Dean. “Through it all, the Business School has come to be known for its high-quality education and world-renowned thought leadership, all while retaining our Christian mission.”

Sic ’em, Baylor Business!