Evolution of Our College

The College of Business Administration was established in 1962, but the study of business at K-State goes back to 1866 when a course entitled Farm Bookkeeping was added to the Agriculture curriculum. The History of the College centers around not only the events in its evolution, but also the people Involved in making it what it is today. This page provides links to some key aspects of the history of our College.

In 1922 there was a degree in Rural Commerce in the College of Arts & Sciences, it was renamed Commerce in 1929. In 1931 an Accounting option was added to the Commerce degree. With raising enrollment, the Department of Business Administration was created, within the School of Arts & Sciences, in 1956.

The School of Commerce was established in 1962, with C. Clyde Jones serving as the first dean of the college. The name was changed to College of Business Administration in 1968. By 1970, the College of Business Administration was the second largest college at K-State. It operated as one department, until the departments of accounting, finance, management and marketing were created in 1979.

The college received accreditation for the first time in 1973. By 1980 the Master of Business Administration and the Master of Accountancy also received accreditation from AACSB. In 1988 the Accounting Department received separate accreditation, a high honor.

In 2009 the Master of Business Administration is ranked for the first time by the Aspen Institute in their Global 100 programs. It is ranked again in 2011. Bloomberg BusinessWeek ranked the College of Business Administration at K-State as the 39th best public business school in the country in 2015.

The Center for the Advancement of Entrepreneurship was established in 2010 under the Provost Office, and was later moved to the College of Business Administration in 2011. That year the National Strategic Selling Institute was also established, and the Integrated Investment Management Lab opened.

In 2011 Dean Ali Malekzadeh started the K-State Business Executive Mentor Program, an initiative to match every student in the college with highly successful individuals to develop professional relationships. That program has since been expanded into K-State Business Career Development, which along with Executive Mentor features the college's Professional Advantage and Career Coach programs.

The College of Business Administration was located in Calvin Hall until the fall of 2016, when it moved into the brand new Business Building on the southeast corner of campus. The new state-of-the art learning environment includes 155,000 square feet of space, which includes dedicated study space, specialized learning areas and industry-leading technology.