The Kelley Story
Our Namesake, E. W. Kelley (1917-2003)
E. W. “Ed” Kelley made a name for himself as a person of extraordinary energy, talent, and leadership abilities-qualities he exhibited as a business administration student at IU in the late 1930s. He served as president of the School of Business student body, founded the Accounting Club, chaired IU Sing, and was a member of Sigma Chi fraternity.
After graduating from IU in 1939, Kelley became a rising star in the business world. He ran the Birds Eye division of General Foods and later, as president of Fairmont Foods, helped develop the Klondike ice cream bar, directed the rollouts of Tang and Cool Whip, created parts of the Lean Cuisine food line, and brought Grey Poupon mustard to America.
He was founder and managing general partner of Kelley & Partners Ltd. and taught at the Columbia University School of Business. As chairman of Steak n Shake, he turned the company into the multimillion-dollar chain it is today.
Supporting the school where he got his start was important to Kelley. It enabled him to “give back to society what society helped me get. I've done that by choosing to support a few special things, and Indiana University is obviously one of them.”
He provided financial support for a scholarship fund and three buildings at IU Kokomo. In 1969 he established the first fully funded chair at the School of Business, the E. W. Kelley Chair in Business Administration. Kelley also supported IU Bloomington's Virgil T. DeVault Alumni Center, Mellencamp Pavilion, Alva Prickett Chair in Accounting, and the Jacobs School of Music.
In 1997 Kelley's $23 million gift to IU established the Kelley Scholars Program, which provides four years of full tuition, room, board, and living expenses for some of the nation's most promising business students. His extraordinary generosity inspired IU to rename the School of Business in his honor.
Today our alumni, students, faculty, and staff carry on Ed Kelley's legacy of leadership, philanthropy, and innovation. We are honored to be associated with such a remarkable man.
Highlights from Our History
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1829
- Indiana University, then known as Indiana College, offers a course in political economy. From this course would grow one of the nation's most respected schools of business.
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1920
- The School of Commerce and Finance is established. William A. Rawles is the first dean, and the initial enrollment is 70 students.
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1932
- The School is renamed the School of Business Administration.
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1935
- Dean Rawles retires and is replaced by a young assistant professor of economics named Herman B Wells. Wells serves as dean for two years before becoming acting president of the university. He is named president in 1938 and leads IU until 1962.
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1938
- The School's name is shortened to the School of Business.
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1947
- The MBA degree is created, replacing the Master of Science in Business and the Master of Commercial Science.
- The School of Business Alumni Association is established. Today Kelley alumni number more than 85,000.
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1950
- The School awards its first doctoral degree, the Doctor of Commercial Science.
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1966
- A new School of Business building is dedicated in Bloomington. Today it is the undergraduate building.
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1971
- The School receives a national award for its integrated core program for undergraduates, now known as I-Core.
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1974
- The School expands its mission to Indianapolis and became "One mission, One curriculum, One faculty at two locations."
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1978
- Groundbreaking is held for the $8 million four-story building that will house the School of Business and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs on the IUPUI campus.
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1982
- Twenty undergraduates spend the spring semester at Tilburg University in the Netherlands as the first class in a new overseas study program. Student reaction is so enthusiastic that similar programs are developed in other countries. Within five years, the School's faculty members establish an international requirement for undergraduates.
- The faculty approves the Executive MBA Program.
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1991
- The School's Bloomington campus awards its 10,000th MBA degree.
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1997
- The School is renamed the Kelley School of Business in honor of E. W. Kelley, BS'39. His $23 million gift to the School creates the Kelley Scholars Program, through which the university attracts the nation's top undergraduate business students.
- The first MBA in Accounting class is launched with 37 students.
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1998
- The Master of Professional Accountancy (MPA) degree program is launched.
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1999
- Kelley Executive Partners is established to manage executive education programs.
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2000
- The Kelley Direct online MBA program launches.
- The Indianapolis Career Placement Office begins operation.
- The MBA/MD Program is established in conjunction with the IU School of Medicine.
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2001
- The Master of Science in Information Systems program is launched.
- The Mitte Foundation announces a gift of $8.2 million to the School to fund undergraduate scholarships and graduate fellowships.
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2002
- The state-of-the-art Graduate and Executive Education Center in Bloomington is dedicated.
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2003
- Dick Johnson, BS'55; Rick Johnson, BS'81; and their family commit $1 million to further the programs of the Johnson Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
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2005
- The Graduate and Executive Education Center is renamed in honor of William J. Godfrey, BS'64, MBA'68. He bequeathed land valued at $25 million to the School for need-based scholarships and the building's needs.
- Clare W. Barker Chair in Marketing and Professor of Marketing Daniel C. Smith becomes the School's new dean.
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2007
- Thomas W. Binford Chair in Corporate Citizenship and Professor of Management, Philip L. Cochran, becomes Indianapolis' new associate dean.
- Kelley students succeed in bringing CNBC's Mad Money to IU Bloomington. Host Jim Cramer interviews Kelley alumnus Mark Cuban, BS'81, in front of a large crowd of Kelley students at Assembly Hall.
- The first Carmel, Indiana Evening MBA cohort is launched.
