[2] Initially established by the humanities faculty, it received independent status in 1910, and became a separate administrative unit in 1913.

[3] Yogev (2001) explains the original concept: The business school pioneered the development of the case method of teaching, drawing inspiration from this approach to legal education at Harvard.

[12] It also brought in professors from the newly founded British business schools to see how teaching was carried out at Harvard via an International Teachers Program.

[14] HBS established nine global research centers and four regional offices[15] and functions through offices in Asia Pacific (Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore), United States (San Francisco Bay Area, CA), Europe (Paris, opened in 2003),[16] South Asia (India),[17] Middle East and North Africa (Dubai, Istanbul, Tel Aviv), Japan and Latin America (Montevideo, Mexico City, São Paulo).

In addition, the HBS student body is represented at the university level by the Harvard Graduate Council.

[42][43] In the fall of 2010, Tata related companies and charities donated $50 million for the construction of an executive center.

At seven stories tall with about 150,000 gross square feet, it contains about 180 bedrooms for education students, in addition to academic and multi-purpose spaces.

[49] The Executive Education quad currently includes McArthur, Baker, and Mellon Halls (residences), McCollum and Hawes (classrooms), Chao Center, and Glass (administration).

[50] Most of the HBS buildings are connected by a color-coded basement tunnel system which is open to pedestrian traffic.