In 2019,
the Darla Moore
School of Business
and the University of South Carolina
celebrated the 100th anniversary of
business education at the university. The
school was rst established in 1919 as the
School of Commerce under the direction
of young, new dean George Olson, veteran
economics professor George McCutchen
and university president William Currell.
It evolved into the School of Business
Administration and then the College of
Business Administration before becoming
the Darla Moore School of Business in 1998
thanks to a notable gi from South Carolina
businesswoman Darla Moore. In 2014, the
school was relocated to a stunning and
innovative new building where students
are transformed into vibrant community
leaders who understand the intersection
of modern business and society.
The business school that graduated
its rst class of nine students in 1923 is
launching its second century with more
than 6,100 world-class students. Through
the leadership of eight deans and four
acting and interim deans, the school
progressed from an early foundational
curriculum in political economy to today’s
coursework in international business,
coding in R for data analytics, soware
tools for investment banking and projects
that restructure supply chains to optimize
productivity. The classroom experience
is still rigorous, but it now focuses on the
challenges of the 21st century, providing
the knowledge and tools to motivate,
educate and guide students so that
they can secure the jobs they aspire to
today and are equipped with the skills
and abilities for the jobs of tomorrow.
The following timeline highlights
signicant dates and accomplishments in
the 100-year history of business education
at the University of South Carolina and
the Darla Moore School of Business.
YEARS OF BUSINESS EDUCATION
AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
SOUTH CAROLINA:
A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
OF THE DARLA MOORE
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
100
1919
The School of Commerce is founded
with $3,000 appropriated by the
South Carolina General Assembly.
1919
The University of South Carolina Board of
Trustees approves the establishment of
the School of Commerce at the university.
1919
George Olson is
appointed dean on
Nov. 1, serving until his
death in June 1946.
1919
Oces are established
in Davis College, where
the Department of
Economics was located.
1920
The new business administration
curriculum is launched within the School of
Commerce and taught by a faculty of 12.
1921
Oces expand into DeSaussure College.
1923
The rst graduating class of the School
of Commerce is composed of nine
individuals: eight male, one female.
1923
Dean Olson helps launch the rst University
of South Carolina uniformed band.
1923
Oces over Rutledge Chapel are
recorded as early as 1923.
1924
Business student enrollment reaches 110.
1927
The 1897 South Carolina State Legislature
ban on Greek letter fraternities from all
state colleges and universities is lied.
1929
The Beta Gamma chapter of Delta
Sigma Pi, an international professional
fraternity of business, is chartered.
1937
The Master of Arts in Economics
(MAEcon) is established.
1937
The Secretarial Sciences program begins,
sharply increasing female enrollment in the
School of Commerce; the school numbers
13 faculty members and 344 students.
1944
The Department of Retailing is created.
1946
The School of Commerce becomes the
School of Business Administration; the
Master of Arts in Economics becomes
the Master of Science in Business
Administration; the school is comprised of
20 faculty members and 1,374 students.
1946
Samuel Derrick is
appointed dean in June,
serving until June 1961.
1948
Oces move to Harper
College, possibly earlier.
1953
Oces are located in
a variety of buildings
where space could be
found: McKissick Library,
Hamilton College, DeSaussure College,
Harper College and McCutchen House.
1953
The Bureau of Business and
Economic Research (now the
Division of Research) opens.
1955
For the rst time, the school is housed
under one roof in the newly constructed
School of Business Administration building
(now the Callcott Social Sciences Center).
1959
The Master of Business Administration
(MBA) degree is established.
1960
The Executive Development Program
begins, expanding into many areas
of continuing business education
as the Management Center.
1961
James Morris is
appointed dean in June,
serving until 1966.
1962
The undergraduate program is accredited
by the American Association of Collegiate
Schools of Business (AACSB).
1963
Graduate AACSB accreditation is
granted; there are 1,426 undergraduate
and 69 graduate students.
1963
The University of South Carolina
integrates for the second and nal time.
UofSC was the only state-supported
southern university to integrate
before the legislation was reversed.
1965
The School of Business Administration
becomes the College of Business
Administration; the school numbers 1,902
undergraduate students, 101 graduate
students and 46 faculty members.
1965
The Ph.D. in Business Administration
program is established.
1966
Olin Pugh serves as acting dean until 1967.
1966
The Master of Accountancy (MACC)
is rst oered in the fall.
1967
James “Jim” Kane is
appointed dean in July,
serving until July 1993.
1967
The Ph.D. in Economics
is established.
1967
The rst computer
time-sharing unit used
in teaching is installed.
1969
Sixteen South Carolina business leaders
form the University of South Carolina-
Business Partnership Foundation
as a 501(c)(3) organization.
1969
The Center for Economics
Education is organized.
1970
The MBA-ETV (now the Professional
MBA) is launched using a closed-circuit
television network (one of the rst
programs of its kind in the nation).
1971
Construction on a new building begins
for a growing student body of 2,823
undergraduate and 420 graduate students.
1971
The Friends of Accounting
Department (FAD) is founded.
1973
The rst business administration tower
(H. William Close Building) is completed.
1973
The Management Center is reorganized to
become the Charles E. Daniel Center for
Management Education (now the Daniel-
Mickel Center for Executive Development).
1974
The Master of International Business
Studies (MIBS) is established.
1976
The College of Business Administration
attains “Professional School” status
within the university infrastructure.
1978
The Bureau of Business and Economic
Research is reorganized as the
Division of Research; the Graduate
Division is decentralized.
1979
The Foundation Fellowship program
is established; the School of Business
Administration is comprised of 3,649
undergraduate students, 873 graduate
students and 137 faculty members.
1979
The Frank L. Roddey Small
Business Development Center
of South Carolina opens.
1980
The rst Economic Outlook
Conference is held.
1982
The Riegel & Emory Human Resources
Research Center opens.
1982
The rst Master of Personnel and Employee
Relations (MPER) degree (now the Master
of Human Resources) is awarded.
1983
The second business administration tower
(Francis M. Hipp Building) is completed.
1984
The Division of Research begins the South
Carolina Economic Forecasting Service.
1984
The Division of Information Services
is established to revamp computer
operations, and new facilities are dedicated
for the James C. Self Computer Center
(1985), including approximately 120 PCs
and terminals for student and faculty use.
1986
The twin structures of the College of
Business Administration are dedicated
as the H. William Close Building (1973)
and the Francis M. Hipp Building (1983).
1986
The Master of Taxation is established;
aer 15 years, the taxation program
rejoined the Master of Accountancy.
1987
The College of Business Administration
numbers 3,286 undergraduate
students, 1,040 graduate students,
and 148 faculty members.
1990
The School of Accounting is created.
1990
The Center for International Business
Education and Research (CIBER) opens.
1993
Susie VanHuss serves as interim
dean until September 1994.
1994
David Shrock is
appointed dean in
October, serving
until June 1999.
1997
The Center for Applied
Real Estate Education
and Research opens.
1997
The Faber Center
for Entrepreneurship opens.
1998
Darla Mooredonates $25 million to the
business school; in her honor, the school
is renamed the Darla Moore School of
Business, also called the Moore School.
1999
Rodney Roenfeldt serves as interim
dean until September 2000.
2000
Joel Smith III is
appointed dean in
October, serving until
September 2007.
2000
The International
Master of Business
Administration (IMBA)
program launches.
2004
The rst Bachelor of
Science in International Business is awarded.
2004
Darla Moore donates $45 million to the
Darla Moore School of Business and asks
the university to match the donation.
2005
The Center for Global Supply Chain
and Process Management (GSCPM)
(now the Operations and Supply
Chain Center) is established.
2006
The rst student graduates from the
Executive International Master of Business
Administration (EIMBA) program.
2007
Hildy Teegen is
appointed dean in
September, serving
until June 2013.
2009
The rst International
Business and Chinese
Enterprise (IBCE)
cohort, the agship
cohort program in the
international business major, begins.
2010
The rst Master of International
Business (MIB) degree is awarded.
2011
Ground is broken on the corner of Assembly
and Greene streets for the new Darla
Moore School of Business building.
2012
The Center for the Advancement
of Accounting opens.
2013
The Center for Marketing Solutions opens.
2013
The Risk and Uncertainty
Management Center opens.
2013
John McDermott serves as interim
dean until January 2014.
2014
Peter Brews is
appointed dean in
January; he currently
holds that oce.
2014
The new Moore School
building is completed in
the summer, opens its
doors in September and
continues to house the School of Business.
2014
The Center for Executive Succession
opens; by fall, the school numbers
more than 5,100 undergraduate and
850 graduate students with a full-time
faculty of 148 and a full-time sta of 84.
2015
The Moore School houses the largest
student count in its history, with more
than 6,400 students: 5,521 undergraduate
students, 887 graduate students, 150
full-time faculty and 91 full-time sta;
deliberate steps are taken to cap student
enrollment and hire more faculty to
improve student/teacher ratios.
2015
The Center for Applied Business
Analytics opens.
2015
The Folks Center for International
Business opens.
2016
The undergraduate program moves
from a two-year to a four-year business
curriculum to increase academic rigor,
deepen the majors, strengthen analytics
coursework and experience, and improve
opportunities for internships; progression
requirements to advance to the sophomore
year increase from a 2.8 to a 3.0 GPA.
2016
The SmartState Center for Innovation
and Commercialization opens.
2017
A graduate program review is conducted;
the International MBA program is
restructured and enhanced.
2017
The Center for Sales Success opens.
2017
The Moore School becomes the
third-largest risk management and
insurance school in the United States,
according to Business Insurance.
2017
The school is named one of the top 20
Global Centers of Insurance Excellence
by the International Insurance Society.
2017
The school is ranked in the top 50 worldwide
for research productivity by Financial Times.
2017
The school is ranked as the No. 1 MBA
program in the world for international
course experience by Financial Times.
2018
The school reaches 20 years as the
Darla Moore School of Business.
2018
The undergraduate international
business program is ranked No. 1 in the
United States for the 20th consecutive
year by U.S. News & World Report.
2018
The school has nearly 5,400 undergraduate
students, more than 800 graduate
and doctoral students, 174 full-time
faculty and 106 full-time sta.
2018
The school is ranked in the top 15
undergraduate and in the top 25 graduate
operations and supply chain programs
in the United States by Gartner.
2018
Five of seven academic departments
are ranked in the top 25 worldwide
for faculty research productivity in
their respective areas of specialty.
2018
According to Google Scholar, the Moore
School has the University of South Carolina’s
most cited scholar in its ranks, followed
by a second faculty member at No. 2 and
a third at No. 11; comprising less than 12
percent of UofSC’s full-time faculty, Moore
School research faculty substantially
contribute to the university’s Carnegie
Foundation R1 highest research ranking.
2019
The Moore School launches new mission,
purpose and values statements. The
school’s purpose becomes “Changing
lives through education.” The core
values include excellence, integrity,
teamwork and resilience.
2019
The school is ranked as one of the top three
graduate international business programs
in the United States for 30 consecutive
years by U.S. News and World Report.
2019
The University of South Carolina-Business
Partnership Foundation turns 50 years old.
2019
The Darla Moore School of Business
turns 100 years old and begins
its centennial celebration.
1922: School of Commerce students,
including the nine students that made
up the first graduating class in 1923
1926: From left: School of Commerce faculty
George Olson, A. C. Wilgus, Charles Waterfall,
Harry Davis and George McCutchen
1926: School of Commerce students gather outside of Davis College for a photo
1941: Typing class
1955: The new School of Business
Administration building (now
Callcott Social Sciences Center)
1969 : The founding members of the
Business Partnership Foundation
1970: The MBA-ETV studio and classroom
1973: H. William Close Building
1983: Completed Close-Hipp Building
1998: University president John Palms with Darla Moore at school naming ceremony
2006: Master of International Business Studies (MIBS)
student in Africa with local community leaders
2014: Darla Moore ringing
the opening bell
2014: The Darla Moore School of Business at the time of the grand opening
2016: Students celebrating another year of ranking No. 1 in international business
Moore
School
students
today
