History of The Fuqua School of Business
Established in 1969 as the Graduate School of Business Administration, Duke University’s Board of Trustees recognized the role of business beyond its economic impact and sought to create two education programs of the highest quality – an undergraduate major in management science, which no longer exists, and an MBA program that graduated its first class of 12 students in 1972.
Two years later, professor Thomas F. Keller, an alumnus of Duke University, became the graduate school’s dean, serving in that role until June 1996. At the time he was appointed, the school had fewer than 100 students.
In his more than 20 years as dean, Thomas Keller’s dedication, involvement, and commitment to the school, community, and culture helped shape Fuqua into the exceptional business school it is today. His legacy continues as students, faculty, and staff continue to embrace the phrase “Team Fuqua” coined by Keller—which is defined as a way of working that draws out the strengths of others.
J. B. Fuqua was raised by his grandparents on a small tobacco farm in Virginia. With no money for college, he wrote to several universities asking them to loan him books. Only Duke University responded. Fuqua educated himself with finance and banking books Duke loaned him by mail. He went on to become very successful in business, and demonstrated his gratitude by donating $10 million to the business school, which was subsequently renamed, becoming the Fuqua School of Business in 1980.
Today, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business has 10 academic degree programs, a tenure-track faculty of 93, and over 2,000 master’s degree candidates. Full-time students are enrolled in residential programs, which include the Daytime and Accelerated Daytime MBA programs, two Master of Management Studies programs, and a Master of Quantitative Management in Business Analytics. Fuqua also offers degree programs with flexibility for working professionals, such as the Weekend Executive MBA and Global Executive MBA programs, and three fully-online degree programs: a Master of Science in Quantitative Management in Health Analytics, a Master of Science in Quantitative Management in Business Analytics, and an Accelerated Master of Science in Quantitative Management in Business Analytics. The Graduate School of Duke University offers a PhD program in Business Administration. In addition to degree programs, Fuqua also has nondegree Executive Education courses and seminars on leadership, management, communication, negotiation, finance, operations, data-driven decision-making, and on topics related to the health care industry. For organizations, in addition to regular offerings, tailored programs are also available.
Fuqua Facilities
In January of 1983, The Fuqua School of Business moved into its present location on Fuqua Drive on Duke University’s West Campus. The Thomas F. Keller Center for MBA Education, designed by Edward Larrabee Barnes, offers one of the finest settings for management education in the United States. The 148,000-square-foot space provides for the instruction of business students in a variety of graduate degree programs. The west wing of the Keller Center contains academic and administrative offices, virtual teaching rooms, and two amphitheater-style classrooms; the east wing includes six amphitheater-style classrooms, the 458-seat Harold S. Geneen Auditorium, the F.M. Kirby Reading Room, and numerous seminar, breakout, and interview rooms.
In May 1989, Fuqua opened the R. David Thomas Executive Conference Center. Named after the founder of Wendy’s International, Inc., the center was designed to be a comfortable and efficient facility to serve Fuqua’s executive students. After nearly 20 years, the conference center was renovated, and in 2017, construction was completed on the JB Duke Hotel—a state-of-the-art facility that includes the newly renovated Thomas Executive Conference Center. The hotel and its conference facilities are used for Fuqua’s degree programs for working professionals, as well as for non-degree executive education courses. The JB Duke Hotel connects to the east wing of the Keller Center by a covered walkway.
The 61,000-square-foot Wesley Alexander Magat Academic Center opened in fall 1999. It houses the majority of faculty offices, as well as seminar and meeting rooms. In 2002, the 77,000-square-foot Lafe P. and Rita D. Fox Student Center opened. Included in the Fox Student Center are a student business center, student lockers and showers, a PhD study area, administrative offices, conference rooms, the café, a coffee bar, the airy McClendon Dining Room, outdoor terraces, and an atrium.
The Doug and Josie Breeden Hall, which opened in August 2008, includes a three-story atrium at the Science Drive entry, three seventy-seat lecture rooms, two small auditoriums (126- and 146-seats), a team room suite, two large meeting rooms with an outdoor terrace connecting them, offices, and the newly expanded Ford Library. The 91,000 square feet of space brings the Fuqua campus size to nearly 500,000 square feet.
In 2023, Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship’s (Duke I&E) new hub for innovators and entrepreneurs across Duke was completed. The space was made possible by a generous donation from William K. Luby and Eileen O. Luby, and on August 29, 2023, it was dedicated as the Luby Family Bullpen. It features classroom, office, and event space where the Duke community gathers to learn, connect, work, and spark new ideas.