In 1967, Kim B. Clark '74 threw in the towel.

Homesick and crumbling under the pressure of being a first-year pre-med, the future dean of Harvard Business School left Cambridge.

He would not return until three years later, when he arrived back in Cambridge--older, wiser and ready to give Harvard another chance. He has not left Harvard since.

Clark is now the darling of arguably the nation's best business school. And he's made one of the most exclusive lists in America--those who could be the 27th president of Harvard.

Talking Business

Clark's three-year stint away from Harvard would be his last. A Mormon, he spent the first two years as a missionary in Germany. Returning to the U.S., he headed not for the Yard, but for Brigham Young University, which is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

At Brigham Young, he focused on political science courses, involving himself in few extracurriculars. He also met his future wife, Sue, to whom he proposed within a month of meeting her.

Returning married and rejuvenated, his second time at Harvard proved to be the charm. Focusing on economics rather than pre-medical studies, Clark found his niche. After a stellar undergraduate career in the economics department, he earned a master's degree in 1977 and followed it with a doctorate in 1978.