Self Examination at Harvard Business School

This one will be a case study for the history books.

Harvard Business School is putting together a case study to examine whether or not Harvard Business School is properly preparing its graduates for managing risk, according to Bloomberg. And instead of letting students dissect the case study as they normally do in their classes, HBS will put the test to its 219 professors.

A task force was created in November to write the case study and it will present its results to professors on May 27. According to task force co-chair Professor Paul Healy, Harvard wants to determine how the school's reputation has been hurt by the crisis.

And the study also may tackle what role its own graduates may have played in the crisis. Harvard Business School alumni include Stanley O'Neal and John Thain, both former Merrill Lynch chief executives, as well as recently ousted GM CEO Rick Wagoner and SEC Chairman Christopher Cox.

Surely the Harvard alumni fund-raising department is hoping the professors can stay mum on the results of their debate.

Harvard is writing the case study in reaction to criticism that its program failed to prepare students for leadership ethics and risk control.

"I'm sure the brand is damaged, at some level," Healy told Bloomberg. "People that I know well tell me to my face, 'You guys have some culpability,' and I think that's fair. It's a good time for us to reflect and think about what the right things are for us to be doing."

by Megan Barnett