Tag: Olin100



“I’ve had a great career and I’ve enjoyed every year of it, every minute of it.” How many people can say that? Howard Wood, BSBA’47, started out as an accountant at Arthur Anderson…for 26 years. Then he wanted to see what it was like on “the other side of the desk” and partnered with fellow Olin alum Jerry Kent to manage a cable TV company called Cencom Cable Associates.

They sold Cencom to Hallmark Cards Inc. in 1991 for an estimated $1billion, bought it back from Hallmark in 1995, and renamed the company Charter Communications. Wood and Kent sold Charter to Paul Allen in 1998 for $4.5 billion, according to the St. Louis Business Journal.

Wood’s ventures in the cable and communications industry included more than $25 billion in acquisitions and launching startups which Wood says is not for everyone. “You can’t be too risk adverse,” he says about entrepreneurship, but adds he doesn’t think of himself as an entrepreneur. “I think we’ve been professional managers.”


At the Olin Distinguished Alumni Awards Ceremony April 21, Chancellor Mark Wrighton introduced a video featuring the business school’s new dean Mark Taylor and his vision for the school as it begins its second century.

Titled “Unleashing Potential” the video was shot on the Washington University campus with several camera crews from Aligned Media.




One hundred years ago today, Washington University officially chartered a new School of Commerce and Finance. Today, it is known as Olin Business School and to celebrate this centennial milestone, we’re having a party. Music, food, drinks, a photo booth, and more will be part of the festivities beginning this afternoon at 4:00 p.m. in the Knight Hall Atrium. Happy Birthday Olin!

Share your memories on social media with #Olin100 and visit the Olin100 website to see stories of Olin’s first century in business.

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Larry Thomas, BSBA’77, came to WashU to study science. But discovered he was really attracted to the business school. He switched his major and a summer internship opened doors to a life-long career with Edward Jones. Thomas reflects on his student days and the growth of the business school in this Centennial series video. Larry Thomas is a member of the Olin National Council and a generous supporter of scholarships at Olin.

Learn more about Olin’s history and share your memories on the Olin100 website.

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Sandy Jurgenson, BSBA’81, remembers seeing Simon Hall at Olin Business School for the first time. She, like so many alumni, had attended classes in the crowded, awkward floor plan of Prince Hall that had been originally designed as men’s dorm in 1904. Simon Hall was a state-of-the-art, high tech building when it opened in 1986 and awed returning alumni with its spacious hallways and classrooms. Watch Sandy’s Olin100 video above.

Sandy’s father, Joe Evans, was an administrator at Washington University and her world has revolved around the university for most of her life.

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At left, a souvenir from 2011:

Dean Gupta chats with Joe Evans (middle), Olin alumnus and former vice chancellor for university business; Evans’ daughter, Sandy Jurgenson (right), senior associate director of development for Olin; and Jurgenson’s son Drew during the 17th annual Olin Thanksgiving Feast Nov. 24 in the Knight Center.  – from The Record, December 2011

Share your business school memories on the Centennial website, Olin100, or use #Olin100 on social media.




The black and white photograph in the 1920 Hatchet yearbook shows 10 seniors standing on the steps of Brookings Hall.

Group-GraduationThe nine men and one woman formed the first graduating class of Washington University’s new business school. There had been one graduate the year before, Henry Duncker, but this was the first class, the first cohort, and the first woman to graduate with a degree from the School of Commerce & Finance, as it was known then.

Margaret Haase told an interviewer many years later that “a degree in business was a necessity for her. The untimely death of both of her parents and the responsibilities of inheriting one third of the family food importing business—the A.C.L. Hasse Co.—made a business education essential.”  Her brother Walter graduated from the Business School in 1921 and took over the family business, but Margaret became a director and worked with the company’s investment portfolio.

Margaret married a lawyer, John Calhoun, soon after graduation. She had three daughters and was active in community service. She served in various capacities with the Girl Scouts of Greater St. Louis including over three years as the president and later as the finance committee chairperson.

Margaret Haase Calhoun passed away Dec. 20, 1999, at the age of 102, at her St. Louis home.

Group-Women's CouncilPages from the 1920 Hatchet highlight the many activities that Margaret Haase participated in at WashU.

Margaret was extremely athletic and played field hockey, basketball, baseball, and was a tennis singles and doubles champion. She also was a winning swimmer and shotput record-holder.  She served on the Women’s Council; vice president of the W.A.A; vice president of the Commerce Club; and several other student clubs.

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Link to Olin100 website for more stories about the business school’s first century.