Mendoza College of Business

At the Mendoza College of Business, what endures is our foundational vision that business should be a force for good in society. Our charge to the Mendoza community is Ask More of Business – to personally exemplify the three supporting tenets of individual integrity, organizational excellence and a concern for the common good.

As a premier business school, we continually seek to refresh our curricula so that we provide students with the relevant knowledge and skills needed to excel in their chosen career path. From our signature courses, such asForesight in Business and Society and Business on the Frontlines, to our renowned faculty, to our extensive yet close-knit alumni network, the Mendoza College provides an educational experience that shapes not just careers, but destinies.

So while we innovate continually to stay abreast of today’s global climate, what truly sets the Mendoza College apart from other business schools is what doesn’t change: Our founding mission to serve society through business.

A program dedicated to the study of business at the University of Notre Dame began to take shape in 1917 when the university became the first in the United States to offer a four-year degree in foreign commerce. Just a few years later, in 1921, the College of Foreign and Domestic Commerce was founded. The Rev. John F. O’Hara, C.S.C., whose vision included developing business between North and South America, became its first dean. "The primary function of commerce is service to mankind," said Father O'Hara when discussing the College mission. "Business has a code of ethics based very largely on divine principles. When this code is followed, commerce can and does advance civilization. When it is overlooked by selfish interests, individual or national, every sort of injustice, from petty thievery to world war, may result."

The college became known as the Program for Administrators in the 1950s, and the College of Business Administration in 1961. In March 2000, the College became the Mendoza College of Business thanks to receipt of a naming gift from Kathy and Tom (ND ‘73) Mendoza, vice chairman at NetApp Inc., a leading data storage and management company. Their generous contribution has enabled the College to recruit top scholars, support existing faculty and initiate new programs for undergraduate and graduate students.