AdCom Shakeup at HBS, Stanford GSB
Two resignation announcements at two of the world’s top business schools have left MBA industry folks buzzing. Both Chad Losee of Harvard Business School and Kirsten Moss of Stanford Graduate School of Business shared their departure plans on September 28.
“Harvard Business School has changed my life. I distinctly remember being in your shoes applying to business schools, now about 12 years ago,” Losee wrote in an update on HBS’s Direct from the Director blog. “I will always be grateful to have been admitted to and subsequently transformed by HBS, first as a student and now as a member of the team.”
Losee concludes his 6+ year tenure as head of admissions and financial aid with several key milestones under his belt. Weathering the pandemic meant adjusting class enrollment from a historically small 730 students in 2020 to 1,015 students in the inflated Class of 2024, due to covid-era deferrals.
In addition, Losee and the admissions team recently announced a history-making financial aid pledge to students with the greatest economic need. Roughly ten percent of students qualify for full-tuition scholarships, which will cover $76,000 in tuition and course fees for each year of the two-year program.
“I have always felt that one of the humbling honors of our work is getting to know you and feeling inspired by your potential to make a difference in the world,” Losee said to applicants in his closing remarks. “Even with all the challenges today, you give us all a sense of optimism about the future.”
Losee’s next stop is Yale University, where he will serve as head of strategy in the university’s provost’s office.
The GSB Gatekeeper Heads for the Door
While her future plans have not yet been shared, Kirsten Moss leaves Stanford’s admissions team in an enviably strong position. The GSB regularly ranks as the best business school in the world across a variety of media outlets. Under Moss’s stewardship, the school has also seen record-setting enrollment of women, under-represented minorities, and international and first-generation students.
In the school’s announcement, Paul Oyer, senior associate dean for academic affairs, said Moss was dedicated to “democratizing the application process to redesigning our financial aid process and leading efforts to advance racial equity in MBA admissions.”
“I am incredibly proud of the work that the MBA Admissions and Financial Aid team has done to attract, select, and enroll exceptional leaders,” Moss said in the statement. “We have been committed to helping individuals from all backgrounds see their capability and believe in their potential to lead.”
Like Losee, Moss will step down at the end of 2022. Stanford announced it has already begun a global search for her successor.
