100 Year Timeline
Heider College of Business 100 Year Timeline
Since our founding in 1920 as the College of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, much has changed: enrollment numbers, tuition, leadership, curriculum. But every milestone, every accomplishment over the last 100 years, has remained rooted in our Jesuit values. We are proud of this heritage, and of our alumni, students, faculty and staff who live these values and bring them to the world beyond campus.
This year we recognize our century of distinction, revisiting the highlights and achievements of those who have made the Heider College of Business the top-ranked school it is today.
We invite you to check out the timeline throughout the year as each month we will be revealing fun facts, spotlight key players in the College’s history, and explore its growth in context of the greater business climate one decade at a time. Thank you for being part of our first 100 year! Let’s celebrate!
Celebrating 100 Years #Heider100
Business School Opens
1920Creighton University opens its business school, the College of Commerce, Accounts and Finance, in 1920. Yearly tuition was $110, and for the first four years, classes were held at night only to accommodate working students.
College of Commerce
1930Creighton’s business school branches off from the School of Journalism to become the College of Commerce and focuses on modern curriculum development that blends business coursework with a liberal arts education taught by faculty with industry experience.
AACSB Member
1949With U.S. involvement in World War II, student enrollment and faculty employment dramatically drops. Post-war numbers swell, though, and by 1949, the College of Commerce is a provisional member of the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
College of Business Admin (COBA)
1956Rechristened the College of Business Administration (COBA) in 1956, the school greatly expands its curriculum to include accounting, finance, management, marketing and secretarial skills.
First MBA in Nebraska
1961As part of a spate of new construction, the Eugene C. Eppley College of Business Administration building opens in 1961. A year later, the college welcomes students to its newly launched Master of Business Administration program. This inaugural class becomes the first to earn MBA degrees in the state of Nebraska.
Council of Business Executives
1973The Council of Business Executives, an advisory board composed of Omaha business leaders, forms in 1973, serving as a valuable liaison between academia and corporate communities. In just 10 years, the MBA program becomes the most popular graduate program on campus.
Wade Computing Center
1985The College of Business Administration keeps pace with the computer revolution by opening the Wade Computing Center in 1985. College leadership also concentrated on connecting with Omaha business leaders to keep students and faculty abreast of current business practices.
Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Program
1990The Eppley Building is remodeled to accommodate advances in technology, including the Seagate Computer Lab and computerized classrooms, and new programming, such as the Anna Tyler Waite Leadership Program and career counseling, are initiated to help ensure student career success.
Creighton Business Symposium
2005The Creighton Business Symposium, the nation’s largest student-led business conference, launches, and Anthony R. Hendrickson joins the College in 2005 as its ninth dean.
Heider College of Business
2013In 2013 the college is named after Charles “Charlie” Heider and his wife, Mary, becoming the first named school at Creighton. Simultaneously, the Heider College of Business vacates the Eppley Building, its home for the previous four decades, and relocates to the Harper Center.
