2024

• Jennifer Mueller-Phillips becomes the ninth dean of the Harbert College of Business. Since joining the Auburn faculty in 2000, Mueller-Phillips has served as director of the School of Accountancy and associate dean for academic affairs. She holds a Master of Accountancy and doctorate in accounting from Virginia Tech and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Jacksonville State University. Her scholarly accomplishments include numerous publications and presentations, a highly competitive research grant by the Center for Audit Quality, appointment to a national research synthesis team of the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, and appointment to the KPMG Academic Research Panel, which supports the firm’s academic research initiatives globally. She is a past recipient of the college’s Outstanding Research Award as well as the McCartney Teaching Award.

2022

• The Harbert College of Business establishes the Institute for Real Estate Development with a $5 million anonymous gift. The Institute positions Auburn as a ntationally recognized hub for exceptional real estate instruction, thought leadership and research innovation across all major property sectors.
• The Auburn University RFID Lab partners with retail giant Walmart to implement its technology in modernizing inventory control.
• Flashtract, a New Venture Accelerator start-up company, receives $15 million in series A funding. Flashtract is a fast-growing provider of billing and payment software for the construction industry.
• Joe Hanna, Regions Bank Professor, is named interim dean of the Harbert College of Business.

2020

• Auburn University’s Harbert College of Business announced on June 8 that it has formed a Department of Supply Chain Management. The creation of the new department brings expanded resources and focus to the college’s highly ranked supply chain management program.

2018

• Dr. Annette L. Ranft joined the Harbert College of Business as its eighth dean on August 1, 2018. Dr. Ranft received her Ph.D. in Strategic Management at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her research has been published in top journals, including the Academy of Management Review, the Academy of Management Journal, Organization Science, the Journal of International Business Studies, and the Journal of Management. She has served on the editorial board of the Strategic Management Journal, and as Associate Editor for the Journal of Management.

2016

• College announces $15 million gift in September from 1982 alumnus Raymond J. Harbert. Coupled with a $15 million match from Auburn University, the gift will lead to the creation of a second building to house graduate programs. Expected completion is for Fall 2018
• The Harbert College of Business surpasses its $100 million target goal in the "Because This is Auburn" comprehensive campaign in July. That far exceeds the college's total from the previous campaign ($19.2 million) completed in 2008 and surpasses the college's total fundraising ($60 million) from 1967-2008. College launches Center for Supply Chain Innovation
• A June 27 electrical fire on the first floor of Lowder Hall forces the temporary closure of the building. Restoration efforts enable the college to resume normal operations for the start of the Fall 2016 semester
• Department of Aviation and Supply Chain Management becomes Department of Systems and Technology

2014

• College renames its alumni publication Harbert Magazine, moves to bi-annual publication and repackages The Shareholder as an annual report

2011

• College sets $100 million goal for university-wide comprehensive campaign

• Distance MBA students begin receiving courses via streaming video

2007

• Department of Aviation and Supply Chain Management replaces Department of Aviation Management and Logistics

2002

• A $1 million gift from 1972 alumnus Bennie Bray announced in June offers support for undergraduate scholarships and the creation of a faculty professorship

2000

• College launches Aviation Management professional option and the Entrepreneurship and Family Business program
• Wayne Alderman resigns as dean of the college in July and returns to the School of Accountancy as a full-time faculty member. Professor John Jahera is named interim dean in August, filling the role until Paul Bobrowski's hiring in 2004

• Physicians Executive MBA Program (PEMBA) launched in the fall quarter
• Auburn University's Executive MBA students travel to Europe, marking the program's first international trip

1995

• Regions Financial Corporation donates $600,000 to the college as part of Campaign Auburn. The gift leads to the creation of the J. Stanley Mackin Eminent Scholar Chair in the college

1993

• Wayne Alderman becomes the first Auburn business graduate to be appointed as the dean of the college. Alderman, who joined the faculty in 1977, moved into the role in August.

1991

• The College of Business adds Management Information Systems program

• Danny Bellenger begins tenure as dean of the college on August 1 after serving as an associate dean at Texas Tech University
• As part of a $150 million building campaign, Auburn University announces plans for a business building along with more than 30 other projects
• College of Business enrollment tops 3,700 students in fall semester
• A $2.6 million grant from H. Ross Perot in honor of longtime business associate Thomas Walter establishes the Thomas Walter Center for Technology Management, which focuses on building bridges between the engineering and business sectors

1987

• The College of Business establishes a business minor and announces revisions to its MBA program, including a mandatory orientation for incoming students and a "lockstep" model that enables students to enter and graduate with the same class. The changes take effect in the 1987-88 academic year
• Associate dean for academic affairs William Holley reports in an April interview with The Auburn Plainsman that MBA program enrollment stands at 55, double its total from the previous year
• International business major Harold Melton makes Auburn University history in April, becoming the first black student to be elected SGA president

1985

• Auburn University's Board of Trustees approves changes in the university's organizational structure in March. The School of Business is renamed the College of Business on July 1.
• The Board of Trustees approves the formation of the School of Accountancy
• The newly-established College of Business begins offering a master's of accountancy program in the spring
• Enrollment tops 3,400 students in the fall semester, making the college the third-largest on campus

1983

• School adds International Business, Industrial and Operations Management and Management programs
• School of Business enrollment stands at 2,600 – down from 3,400 eight years ago. Dean George Horton attributes it to tougher admissions standards, as well as limited financial resources, in a May interview with the Auburn Plainsman. "If the funds are limited, we just can't service as many people," he said.

1980

• After months of unrest among administrators, faculty and students, the School of Business is deemed "fully accredited" at the annual meeting of the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) in June. Dean George Horton, Associate Dean Ellsworth Steele and Director of Graduate Studies Edward Kern presented Auburn's application to the AACSB in Chicago. The assembly identified Auburn "as the strongest contender" out of 77 schools vying for accreditation. The school earned initial accreditation in 1976, but must be re-accredited every five years.
• Small Business Development Center established

• The School of Business enters a tumultuous period as the state suffered from the effects of a deep national recession. Newly-elected Gov. Fob James' proration request for a 10 percent state budget cut sent shockwaves to Auburn's campus. Auburn University President Harry Philpott warned that such deep cuts, coupled with a 9-12 percent inflation rate, would "affect quality programming." James went so far as to suggest schools of business and engineering at Auburn University and the University of Alabama could be combined as cost-cutting measures
• In early May, President Philpott draws public criticism after his response to a question on whether budget cutbacks would lead to a decline in business school enrollment and, potentially, the loss of accreditation. President Philpott said "the sky won't fall if we weren't accredited" and that "a loss of students would be good" to give the School of Business time to address unmet needs
• School of Business Dean George Horton reacts with shock in the wake of Philpott's comments, telling the Auburn Plainsman "I could hardly believe it. My objectives ever since I've been here have been to develop the greatest, most productive business school in the country. Naturally, I get upset when I hear anything that would have that objective slowed down. … I'm trying to develop the finest business school, and I'll continue to do that." According to The Plainsman, Auburn University spent $2 million on its business school in the most recent calendar year compared to $30 million at Harvard
• School of Business advisory council members express concerns that a loss of accreditation will hamper students' efforts to find jobs. "It will definitely be more difficult for graduates to get jobs," said Liberty National Life Insurance President Robert Stewart. "Loss of accreditation would be very unfortunate."
• Auburn University's Board of Trustees approves a three-year, $30 million capital drive – its first in 20 years -- for campus-wide projects. The campaign drive idea was presented to the board in June 1978, when School of Business Dean George Horton and Engineering Dean Grady Cox requested support in mitigating funding deficiencies.
• Auburn University President Harry Philpott announces his resignation and retirement on September 7 after 14 years. Dean George Horton said, "We need to take what Philpott has built, and make it higher. We have to start realizing the full potential of Auburn University now. … We have set our objectives very high in the School of Business and we cannot obtain them with lower levels of funding."

1976

• School of Business earns undergraduate accreditation in May from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), becoming one of 160 accredited business schools out of 2,000 nationwide. "The main effect will be reputation-wise," Dean George Horton tells the Auburn Plainsman. "Auburn will now be recognized for its excellent business program, not merely have it."
• Auburn Technical Assistance Center (ATAC) begins helping business, industry and non-profit organizations improve efficiency and competitiveness
• School of Business professional options consist of Accounting, Finance, Economics, Industrial Management, Food Industry Management, Personnel and Industrial Relations, Marketing and Transportation
• International business debuts as a major in Fall semester

1974

• Dean George Horton outlines a plan for the School of Business to pursue Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accreditation, telling the Auburn Plainsman "We are trying to attract top-notch people from the better institutions in an effort to significantly improve the faculty quantitatively and qualitatively." Horton sets the goal of applying for AACSB accreditation in the spring of 1975
• The Executive in Residence program, developed with the help of the Business Advisory Council, welcomes its first honoree. The program brings leading executives from throughout the U.S. to Auburn for two- to three-day visits. South Central Bell Telephone general personnel manager Carl Happer Jr. and Armstrong Rubber and Chemical Corps. Senior VP and Chairman of the Board Joseph Stewart become the first distinguished alumni award honorees selected by the School of Business

1972

• The School of Business hosts the first Business Tomorrow Conference in October. Conceived by Dean Turner and sponsored by the Associated Industries of Alabama, the conference brings together students and faculty from state business schools and features leading executives as guest speakers, as well as "buzz groups" devoted to specific business topics
• O.D. Turner announces he will resign as dean at end of the 1972-73 academic year to accept a position with management consulting firm Business Science Corp. "We fortunate to have his leadership during these formative years," Auburn University President Harry Philpott tells the Auburn Plainsman. Faculty positions during Turner's tenure grew from 42 to 69, while the number of graduates with business degrees grew by 120 percent

• Business Extension Unit forms, enabling faculty members to conduct research and outreach throughout Alabama
• Professional options for the School of Business grow to include accounting, finance, geography, quantitative methods, marketing, transportation, general business, industrial management, personnel and industrial relations and office administration

1967

• Auburn University's Board of Trustees creates the School of Business by decree on March 15.
• Dr. Ellsworth Steele serves as interim dean of the school until O.D. Turner's arrival as dean in 1968
• The School of Business becomes the university's 10th undergraduate school in September and ranks fourth in size at Auburn University with 1,800 students. The School of Business is organized into four departments – Accounting and Finance, Economics and Geography, Management, and Marketing and Transportation
• The School of Business makes its initial home in Thach and Tichenor Halls
• Of the 134 female students enrolled for fall quarter, 93 were enrolled in Secretarial Administration