At Harvard Business School (HBS), after 50 years - you get 5 jam packed days of celebration. It all starts with a reception at the garden of Dean Nitin Norhea's house and then where off - for grads and their partners there will be 5 days filled with lots of sunshine, blue skies and little sleep!
For the non-initiated, each graduating class spends its first year divided into a group of about 90 students called "Sections" and so HBS reunions are as much about being with your SECTION, as your class. Our festivities began with a private "Section A" dinner at the Algonquin Club on Commonwealth Ave. Early the next morning the class of 1965 joined other significant graduating years and off we go for classes - and you had better have read your cases in case you get cold called. There are tours, luncheons, speakers - and yes that would be Mr. Steve Kaufman - head of of the 50th year reunion - addressing the class of 1965. Some things - okay a lot of things - have changed since the school was established in 1908, but then there's landmarks like Baker Library (above) which has been around since 1911.
So how to top it off? How about an evening with Keith Lockhart leading the Boston Pops for Harvard Business School graduates? Symphony Hall, inaugurated in1900, is cleared and cocktail tables set up as we settle in for an evening of music, laughs and fun. Sunday morning the class of 1965 lingers over brunch as if they've never been apart. We're already missing each other and certainly won't be waiting another 50 years to get together again. Oh - and we're thrilled there's not an HBS tradition of distributing weird colored, poly blazers when you hit the big 50. We're still trying to figure out what to do with the MIT crimson fashion statement blazer from the 50th undergrad reunion 2-years ago! Anyone have any ideas?
