Fewer HBS Graduates Plan to Sign MBA Oath

Fewer Harvard Business School Graduates Plan to Sign MBA Oath This Year

Though the Harvard Business School (HBS) Student Association has agreed to again allow the signing of the MBA Oath during Class Day festivities this year, fewer students plan to sign the voluntary code of ethics than did last year, according to a recent report in the Financial Times.

Harvard’s student newspaper, the Crimson, reported last week that the HBS Student Association had decided not to allow the signing of the oath on Class Day as it had in 2009, when it was compiled by some of the graduating class to address a surge in negative publicity for MBA graduates. But a subsequent letter written to the Crimson by the Student Association and the oath leadership representatives provided an update to the story, noting that, “just like last year, the MBA Oath will be granted space on campus for the public recitation of the oath during HBS Class Day,” according to the FT report. The letter went on to emphasize that there had never been any animosity between the Student Association and MBA Oath leadership around the issue.