Founding as a private institution (1946–2014)
The school derives its name from Thunderbird Field No. 1, a decommissioned World War II-era US Army Air Forces base which served as its campus for more than 70 years.
The American Institute for Foreign Trade was founded by Lt. Gen. Barton Kyle Yount, a US Army Air Forces (AAF) officer who purchased the former Thunderbird Field from the War Assets Administration for one dollar, subject to the condition that the property be used for educational purposes for a minimum of 10 years. This led to short-lived controversy as journalists questioned the propriety of the transaction. As head of the Army Air Training Command, Yount had been recruited to the project by two AAF colonels, Finley Peter Dunne, Jr. and W. Stouder Thompson, who considered that the United States was (in Dunne's words) "notoriously short of personnel trained for foreign trade." Yount agreed that "the young men who were going to foreign countries to represent American business were, in many cases, entirely untrained and unfit to represent their firms and their government." [7] The school was chartered as a nonprofit Arizona corporation on April 8, 1946. Over the next six months, Yount and Dunne (Thompson having departed the project) prepared the Glendale location, arranged financing, remodeled the physical plant (which included several airplane hangars and a control tower), and recruited faculty and students. Students were required to be "at least twenty years of age who, through study in college or the armed forces, have completed at least two years above high school, or the equivalent thereof." [8] This last provision was interpreted to allow military or work experience to substitute for formal university study.
Classes officially began on October 1, 1946, with 285 students and 18 faculty members. (Early catalogues give these figures as 296 and 22, respectively.) 98% of the students attended on the G.I. Bill (provision was also made for the "instruction of wives"). The first certificates were awarded June 14, 1947. The program mixed business courses with instruction in Spanish or Portuguese languages and Latin American culture, for a "tripartite curriculum" consisting of international commerce, languages, and area studies. Course offerings soon expanded to include French language and Western European and "Far Eastern" area studies. In 1951, Thunderbird began granting the Bachelor of Foreign Trade to students who already possessed undergraduate degrees, or at least three years of coursework, while the others continued to be awarded certificates. [9] Thunderbird thus became one of the first tertiary institutions to offer international business degrees.
A Master of Foreign Trade degree began to be offered in 1952, and required four semesters of study, in contrast to two semesters for the bachelors. (This replaced an earlier system which distinguished between Course I and Course II of the bachelor's degree, the latter being more specialized and requiring one or two additional semesters.) Over the following decades, the master's degree—renamed the Master of International Management (MIM) – came to dominate, while the undergraduate program was phased out (bachelors degrees ceased to be awarded by 1975). The school accordingly changed its name to the "Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management" (in 1967), and then to the "American Graduate School of International Management" (in 1973). [7] The American Management Association entered into some sort of relationship with the school, while the North Central Association granted Thunderbird regional accreditation in 1969 and 1974. Accreditation by the American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business proved more elusive (and would not be granted until 1994), since Thunderbird did not then award the MBA degree, and indeed emphasized the "difference of degree" in its marketing materials.
In 1953, the school logo (which had been affixed to several repurposed aircraft hangars) allegedly inspired the name of the U.S. Air Force demonstration flight team, the Thunderbirds. [10]
The first foreign students enrolled in 1958, and their proportion steadily increased until 9-11, reaching some 60% of the student body.
In 1965, the U.S. Department of Commerce awarded the school the President's "E" Certificate for Export Service (later upgraded to an "E-star" ranking). A small flag signifying this flew in front of the school for decades. [10]
Under the presidency of Arthur L. Peterson (served 1966-69), Thunderbird received regional accreditation; the size of the student body doubled (to 503 in 1967); and several significant building projects were undertaken, including a library. A pilot, Peterson was known for landing his plane on Thunderbird field. [11] [10]
William Voris (served 1971–1989) established overseas study programs in several foreign countries, including cooperative agreements with the Tecnológico de Monterrey (ITESM) and the Beijing Institute of Foreign Trade (1980). [10] He also organized the school's first executive education programs. [10]
The Thunderbird Hot Air Balloon Classic was first held in 1975, on the Thunderbird campus itself (which had been designed as an airfield). The event became an annual festival featuring student-run food-booths and the like. It was moved off-campus in 1989 and cancelled after 2006. [10]
Enrollments steadily rose to a peak of about 1,600 in 1992. [12] Meanwhile Thunderbird's endowment also grew, reaching US$1 million in 1982, and $20 million in the late 1990s. At the same time, Thunderbird began to experience competition from other American (and ultimately, foreign) business schools as international business increasingly became a mainstream subject. Thunderbird's relative poverty, and lack of affiliation with a full-fledged university, proved significant disadvantages, even as interest in business education skyrocketed during the Reagan administration. After 1992 Thunderbird's enrollment began to decline, dropping below 600 in 2003, and necessitating faculty and staff cuts in 2001 and 2004. This trend was exacerbated by the September 11 attacks, which led to stricter visa rules for foreign students; [13] by the decline in the popularity of MBA study during the dot-com bubble; and by the Great Recession.
In 2001, Thunderbird began to offer an MBA in International Management, replacing the previously offered Master of International Management (MIM) degree. [14] In 2004, the school changed its name to "Thunderbird, the Garvin School of International Management" following a $60 million pledge by alumnus Sam Garvin and his wife Rita (only part of which was ultimately donated). [15] The same year, the school hired Ángel Cabrera to serve as president. [16] Cabrera oversaw the school's 2006 adoption of a Professional Oath of Honor. [17] [18] [19]
In 2007, the school again changed its name to the "Thunderbird School of Global Management." [20] [21]
Laureate controversy
In 2012, Larry Penley became president of Thunderbird, [22] and was forced to make further faculty and staff reductions. [23] The following year, the school announced a planned partnership with Laureate Education, Inc. [24] As part of the planned partnership, Thunderbird would remain a nonprofit organization, exempt from income tax as a 501(c)(3), [24] [25] but would establish a joint educational service company with Laureate, a for-profit company. This joint company would launch an undergraduate program and expand online programs. [25] [26] The planned partnership would allow Thunderbird to host events at Laureate campuses worldwide and establish Thunderbird campuses abroad. [24] [27] [28] [29] According to the agreement, although Laureate would be given three seats on Thunderbird's board, [24] [25] Thunderbird would retain its academic independence and degree-granting powers. [25] [27] [29] Thunderbird would continue to operate from its Glendale campus, but would sell its campus to Laureate in a leaseback agreement, and use the money from the sale to pay off its debts. [24] [25] [29] (Thunderbird alumni would have the option to purchase the campus from Laureate within two years, or the school could repurchase the campus at the end of the twenty-year lease agreement.) [24] Also, Laureate and Thunderbird had planned to invest $20 million and $10 million respectively in campus improvements. [24] [29]
A number of Thunderbird alumni, and several board members, opposed the proposed partnership on the grounds that it would harm the school's reputation, [25] [26] [27] and circulated a petition in protest. [24] [25] [26] The Thunderbird Independent Alumni Association (not to be confused with the school-managed Thunderbird Alumni Network) was formed in the midst of the controversy. [25] There were board resignations. [27] [30]
Although the proposal was approved by Thunderbird's board in June 2013, it was ultimately rejected by the Higher Learning Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Thunderbird's's regional accreditor. [25] [27] [29] Since Thunderbird was then in an advanced state of financial exigency, attention naturally focused on acquisition by ASU, which expressed willingness to proceed.
As part of Arizona State University (2014–present)
Negotiations with ASU president Michael M. Crow concluded within months, with the new plan winning swift approval from both boards as well as the Higher Learning Commission. Under the plan, finalized in December 2014, ASU assumed Thunderbird's debts of $22 million, and received $20 million from Thunderbird's operating fund to stabilize its finances. ASU also acquired Thunderbird's Glendale campus (then estimated to be worth $20 million). [31]
In 2015, ASU appointed Allen J. Morrison as CEO and Director General of Thunderbird. [32] Since ASU already had an MBA program (the W. P. Carey School of Business), it was decided to phase out the Thunderbird MBA in favor of a Master of Global Management, a one-year program similar to the school's former Master of International Management degree (offered prior to 2001). Also, an undergraduate program (not offered since 1975) was recreated.
In 2018, ASU appointed Sanjeev Khagram as director general and dean of Thunderbird. [33]
In October 2019, ASU and Thunderbird held a groundbreaking ceremony to celebrate the start of construction on Thunderbird's new global headquarters facility,adjacent to ASU's Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law on the Downtown Phoenix campus. The first classes in the new building were held in the fall semester of 2021, when Thunderbird celebrated its 75th anniversary.
