Another prominent theme of the launch was the importance of innovation in the school’s future.
Nohria, who has set forth priorities for the school similar to the ones articulated Friday since his appointment in 2010, said that novel and innovative endeavors brought forth from the campaign will help to bring security to the school’s future.
“In the end, I believe that the most important goal of this campaign, and its most important accomplishment, will be to give Harvard Business School the courage and the capacity to be innovative—not just now, but to be innovative in the future,” he said. “This is a time when we must invest in innovation. The world is changing very rapidly. The health of the business school sector is not secure.”
He also said that funds collected would be used to bolster financial aid, both for students to attend the Business School and for graduates to pursue careers in public service, non-profit work, and healthcare, among other fields, as well as toward faculty development and research. He added that funds would also be invested in the maintenance and improvement of the school’s facilities.
Early gifts for the campaign, which comprise 60 percent of its $1 billion goal, include donations such as funding for Tata Hall from Indian businessman Ratan N. Tata and the Ruth Mulan Chu Chao Center, on which the school broke ground on Thursday, from the Chao family.
The school’s last fundraising drive run by the school ended in 2005, having raised nearly $600 million, $100 million more than its intended goal.
“I am delighted,” concluded Faust, “to launch a campaign that will advance business education at Harvard and strengthen Harvard Business School in its commitment to bringing the leaders and the ideas that will enhance prosperity and well-being across the globe. This is a campaign about making a difference.”
The launch coincided with the announcement of a global, 18-month alumni engagement tour and a newly launched alumni website to increase interaction with and among alumni, according to the press release.
Among portions of the University that have launched their own campaigns thus far, the Business School’s goal trails only that of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard’s flagship arm, which announced in October that it sought to raise $2.5 billion.
—Staff writer Alexander H. Patel can be reached at alex.patel@thecrimson.com. Follow him on twitter @alexhpatel.
This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:
CORRECTION: April 26, 2014
An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated the year in which Business School Dean Nitin Nohria assumed his deanship. In fact, it was 2010.