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30 May 2025

Harvard Business School Celebrates 115th Commencement

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BOSTON—Harvard Business School (HBS) held its 115th Commencement exercises yesterday with a diploma ceremony on its campus in Boston.

After an all-University celebration in Harvard’s Tercentenary Theatre in the morning, 925 students received their MBA degrees in front of the School’s Baker Library | Bloomberg Center.

The top five percent of the MBA Class of 2025 (49 students) graduated with high distinction as Baker Scholars (named after the School's initial benefactor, George Fisher Baker). Seventy-eight students earned their diplomas with distinction and 189 earned second-year honors.

Also participating in yesterday’s ceremony were four MBA graduates who were awarded their degrees this past February.

In addition, 11 students in the Doctoral Program earned PhD degrees in the fields of business administration, business economics, and health policy management. In February 2025, two students earned PhD degrees; one in business economics and another in accounting and management. In November 2025, two students earned PhDs in business administration.

Dean Srikant Datar presented the 2025 Alumni Achievement Awards to Bonnie R. Cohen (MBA 1967), trustee of the DC Public Libraries and former under secretary of state for management; Vittorio Colao (MBA 1990), vice chairman of EMEA and General Atlantic and former Italian minister for innovation, digital transition, and space; Deborah A. Farrington (MBA 1976), managing partner and cofounder of StarVest Partners; Jeremy Grantham (MBA 1966), cofounder and chairman of GMO and founder of the Grantham Foundation for the Protection of the Environment; and John Rice (MBA 1992), founder and CEO of Management Leadership for Tomorrow.

In his Commencement remarks, Dean Datar encouraged the new graduates to reflect on three qualities everyone should seek to embody: curiosity, adaptability, and resilience.

“The case method encourages you to look at problems in new ways, probe more deeply, ask more questions, step out of your comfort zone, and envision new solutions. This is the very essence of curiosity,” said Datar. “You have learned to be adaptable and tolerate ambiguity, knowing there is no single right answer. You have learned from others whose position you do not agree with, and you have had the courage to change your mind. This is a precious gift. Always engage in constructive dialogue and don’t be afraid to change your mind.

“And you have learned to be resilient. I know things have not always worked out as you wished, whether it was a grade you received on an exam, the personal challenges you faced, or the hurdles we faced together during the year. But you showed resilience. You never lost sight of the greater purpose of why you were here. You showed a commitment to learning and sustained our community.”
Contacts

Mark Cautela
mcautela+hbs.edu
617-365-9547

About Harvard Business School

Harvard Business School, located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, was founded in 1908 as part of Harvard University. It is among the world's most trusted sources of management education and thought leadership. For more than a century, the School's faculty has combined a passion for teaching with rigorous research conducted alongside practitioners at world-leading organizations to educate leaders who make a difference in the world. Through a dynamic ecosystem of research, learning, and entrepreneurship that includes MBA, Doctoral, Executive Education, and Online programs, as well as numerous initiatives, centers, institutes, and labs, Harvard Business School fosters bold new ideas and collaborative learning networks that shape the future of business.

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