Come Build What’s Next
We are a business school embedded in a world-renowned university, rising nationally and globally, with the resources and reach to build what’s next in business and beyond.
Committed to Growth, Then & Now
Founded in 1969, the Owen Graduate School of Management has grown from 10 students and 10 faculty members in a former historical funeral home into one of the world’s top-ranked business schools. What hasn’t changed is our commitment to the people who walk through our doors. At Owen, you’ll build the vision and skills to achieve your goals now and later.
1969 - 1978
Fifty years ago, Vanderbilt launched its graduate business program with an ambitious, and perhaps unprecedented, goal in mind: To build a world-class management school that would defy hidebound academic tradition.
- 1957: A Board of Trust Committee investigates forming a business school at Vanderbilt.
- 1958: The Board of Trust Committee recommends forming a business school.
- 1965: At a Board of Trust retreat, a core group reignites interest in a business school, a new committee forms to determine the cost of opening one.
- 1966: Three Board of Trust members promise to raise $250K annually for the first few years of the school’s existence.
- 1967 (May): The Board of Trust passed the school's founding resolution.
- 1968: Igor Ansoff is named the first dean.
- September 1969: Operations as the Graduate School of Management began. Classes met in a renovated funeral home, a gift from Mr. and Mrs. David K. Wilson. The building was named Alexander Hall in honor of Henry Clay Alexander, a Vanderbilt alum and president of J.P. Morgan.
- 1971: The school graduates its first class.
- 1976: Samuel (Sam) B. Richmond becomes dean.
- 1977: The school is renamed the Owen Graduate School of Management, in honor of Ralph and Lulu Owen.
1979 - 1988
“No longer do we think of ourselves as young and struggling. We are there. We have arrived.” - Dean Sam Richmond, 1980
- 1979: Owen receives formal accreditation from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business.
- 1979: The Owen School Student Association launches.
- 1980: Construction begins on new building and renovation of Old Mechanical.
- 1981: The first class of Executive MBA students graduate.
- 1982: Owen moves from Alexander Hall to Management Hall.
- 1983: The Ph.D. program begins with three students.
- 1984: Management Hall is expanded to increase room for administration.
- 1985: New professional students organizations launch: Owen Human Resource Management Association, Owen Management Consulting Association, and Owen International Business Association.
- 1987: Martin Geisel becomes dean.
- 1987: The Financial Markets Research Center is founded, directed by Professor Hans Stoll.
1989 - 1998
Owen’s third decade was the first that began with the school in strong position on a broad range of fronts.
- 1989: International Business Association proposes the first student trip to Japan.
- 1989: Owen Minority Student Association begins.
- 1990: Owen Entrepreneurship Club, Owen Women in Business, and Owen Spouses Association launch.
- 1991: Number of classes with international orientation doubles from previous year.
- 1993: Owen Black Student Association and Owen Jewish Student Association launch.
- 1993: Bob Whaley develops a Volatility Index — the VIX — for the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
- 1994: 100% Owen launches.
- 1994: The Online Center for Environmental Management Studies forms.
- 1995: The Center for Organizational Learning and Leadership forms.
- 1996: Owen switches from 14-week semesters to 7-week modules.
- 1997: The International Executive MBA program launches.
1999 - 2008
Owen was humming at the beginning of its fourth decade.
- 1999: Dean Martin Geisel passes away, Joseph (Joe) D. Blackburn takes on the mantle of interim leadership.
- 2000: Owen Corporate Council formed to provide strategic direction for the school.
- 2000: New 5-year MBA/MD program launched.
- 2001: William (Bill) Christie becomes dean.
- 2002: Exchange program with international schools launched.
- 2004: Health Care MBA and Accelerator programs launch.
- 2005: James (Jim) W. Bradford becomes dean.
- 2005: The MS Finance program launches.
- 2006: Students influenced by the work of Muhammad Yunus — a Vanderbilt graduate and Nobel laureate — launched Project Pyramid, an effort aimed at alleviating global poverty.
- 2007: The Master of Accountancy program launches.
- 2008: The Master of Management in Health Care program launches.
2008 - Present
The school increasingly recognized the value of its distinctive brand — and proudly advertised that distinctiveness to the world.
- 2011: The Americas MBA, the Executive MBA track for students seeking expertise, launches.
- July 2013: M. Eric Johnson becomes dean.
- 2015: The Turner Family Center for Social Ventures is established.
- 2016: The Master of Marketing program launches.
- 2016: The Center for Healthcare Markets Innovation launches.
- 2019: Owen celebrates its 50th anniversary, which becomes a major catalyst for fundraising toward the Management Hall renovation.
- 2021 (February): Vanderbilt announces a $55 million renovation and expansion of Management Hall, the largest project in the building's history and the university's first fully donor-funded building project.
- 2021 (March): Construction begins on Management Hall expansion.
- 2023 (April): Owen holds ribbon-cutting ceremony celebrating the completed 48,000 square foot building expansion, which grew the building's footprint by 50% and achieved LEED Gold certification.
- 2023 (July): Thomas (Tom) J. Steenburgh becomes dean.
- 2026: The Master of Management (for Vanderbilt undergraduate business minors) launches.
Creating opportunities to discover, grow, and thrive in business and beyond.
From the moment you arrive, you'll notice something different about Owen. Our mission shapes everything from how we teach to how we connect, while our values drive how we see the world of business and how we equip future business leaders.
Our Values
Self-Direction
Choosing your own path
Mastery
Developing expertise and skills
Belonging
Feeling meaningfully connected with others
Collaboration
Challenging and supporting each other to reach new heights
I have met alumni and faculty who became my mentors in a short time. It is rare to find people willing to do so much to help you succeed. And because our class is the size it is, I was able to form friendships with so many more people.
Programs to Achieve Your Goals
Our degrees and programs are designed for where you are right now, and where you want to go.
For Undergrads and Recent College Grads
Jumpstart your career with innovative, career-launching programs ranging from a three-week summer business immersion to one-year degrees in finance, accounting, marketing, and management.
For Career Switchers and Catapulters
Ready to accelerate your path or start a new one? Our top-ranked MBA is a 2-year degree that gives you the skills, connections, and credentials to reach the next level in consulting, finance, healthcare, marketing, operations, social impact, and more.
For Working Professionals and Executives
Grow your career further, faster with an MBA program built especially for working professionals, a one-year master's for doctors, clinicians, and administrators, and focused Executive Education programs.
Strategic Growth Areas
Owen brings industry leaders and researchers together to offer programs that position our students to lead in these core areas.
Entrepreneurship
Health Care
Artificial Intelligence
Finance
Real Estate
Creative Economy
Our Locations
Nashville
Nashville is more than just music—it's one of the country’s fastest-growing hubs for health care, finance, and technology. With a vibrant entrepreneurial culture and a contagious spirit of creativity, the city offers incredible opportunities for learning, networking, and launching your career.
New York City
Vanderbilt’s Chelsea campus connects education, research and industry across New York by expanding opportunities for students, sparking innovation with partners and deepening our alumni and community ties in a global capital. Our NYC campus is home to the MS in Business and Technology program.
West Palm Beach
With strong philanthropic momentum, Vanderbilt University is moving forward with its planned campus in West Palm Beach focused on finance, management, engineering, space technology and innovation, defense technology and manufacturing, and business innovation.
Our Stories
The Owen experience is best told by the people who've lived it — students, alumni, and the community that surrounds them.