Henley Business School - History and Growth

History and Growth

1945-1981: During World War II, the idea that of leadership as a natural gift was questioned thanks to the experiences of a number of businessmen. Thus, the Administrative Staff College was set up in 1945 at Henley-on-Thames as the civilian equivalent of the Military Staff Colleges. At that time this was an appropriate title because administration was defined as the highest form of management. Over the years, it has become known as Henley. It offered short courses in problems of advanced management. The College was offered the use of Greenlands by the 3rd Viscount Hambledon in 1946, and was bought outright from the family in 1952. In its formative years, the College was influenced by the management consultant and writer Lyndall Urwick, the academic Hector Hetherington, the civil servant Sir Donald Banks and the businessman Sir Geoffrey Heyworth (later Lord Heyworth); its curriculum was designed by its first Principal, Noel Hall. From the beginning, its intention was to bring together executives from the civil service, private business and nationalised industries to help develop their skills for promotion to senior management. The success of the College led to the establishment of several administrative staff colleges around the world. By the early 1960s, a network of staff colleges modelled on Henley had been transplanted to Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua and New Guinea, and later to Bangladesh, Ghana and the Philippines.

1981-2008: In 1981, the College changed its name from its original title to Henley - The Management College. This was changed again to the Henley Management College when it was awarded a Royal Charter in 1991. By 2002, the College was also one of the very few in the world to achieve triple accredited status (AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). The historic campus of the College has been located since its inception on the banks of the river Thames at Greenlands, on the outskirts of Henley-on-Thames. A former home of the WH Smith family, the Greenlands campus is part of a country estate, and continues to serve as the home to the Henley MBA and corporate learning activities after the College's merger with the University of Reading.

2008-date: In 2008, the Henley Management College merged with the University of Reading to form the Henley Business School as one of the world’s largest full-service business schools. It consists of: the School of International Business and Strategy; School of Organisation and Behaviour; School of Marketing and Relationships; School of Business Informatics, Systems and Accountancy which includes the Informatics Research Centre; the School of Real Estate & Planning; the ICMA Centre; and Executive Education Programmes. While the Henley MBA and corporate learning activities are offered from the Greenlands campus, all undergraduate, postgraduate and PhD courses of the Henley Business School are offered from the Whiteknights campus of the University of Reading. A former country estate of the Marquis of Blandford, the 130 hectare Whiteknights campus is made of conservation meadows, rare tree collection and a large lake. Since 2009, the School functions out of a new purpose-built building in Whiteknights, with facilities for lectures, conferences and visitors.