What is the SA?

The Student Association is the main interface between the MBA student body and the faculty and administration. The goal of the SA is to address the needs of the student body in order to make the HBS experience as rewarding and enjoyable as possible. This includes planning of social events, acting on student feedback and, through the SA Office, providing products and services to the students (e.g. HBS fleeces, yearbook, airport shuttle service, section pictures, and the HBS Survival Guide). All members of the MBA student body are also members of the Student Association.

Structure of the SA

The SA is comprised of the Executive Committee, the Senate, the Social Committee, SA Office and the various committees made up of section officers (Presidents’ Committee, Educational Representatives’ Committee, Technology Representatives’ Committee, Leadership and Values Committee, Orientation Committee, etc.). The Executive Committee consists of the two Co-Presidents, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Chief Operating Officer (COO) and is ultimately responsible for major SA decisions, financial control of the SA, and the management of the SA Office. The Executive Committee is elected in a class-wide election by the first year students in February/March.

The Senate is the legislative body of the Student Association and also interfaces directly with each of the major administrative and faculty groups on campus through various committees (Academic, Operations etc.). It is composed of one Senator from each section (both first and second year) and representatives from each of the other major committees (Presidents’, Technology, Leadership and Values, International, etc.). The Senate is led by both of the co-Presidents. The Social Committee plans all major social events on campus. These include TGIFs, Hollidazzle, and graduation social events. The Social Committee (typically, 5 members) is elected by the first year student body along with the election of the Executive Committee.

Section officers are responsible for the leadership of their respective sections and for representing the section in various campus-wide committees. Sections are led by Section Presidents who are responsible for setting section agendas, running section meetings and moderating any discussions or issues which may arise in the section. Educational Representatives are the main interface between the section and their professors and also sit on the class-wide Educational Representatives’ Committee which addresses current academic issues more broadly. The section social committee is responsible for the social agenda of a section. The section also elects a Technology Representative, a Historian, a Career Representative and several other representatives to participate in campus-wide committees including the Senate.

The SA Office (formally HBS Ventures) was formed by the Harvard Business School Student Association in 1997 as a non-profit organization to manage the various concessions on campus. By doing this, the Student Association is able to provide services that improve campus life. In 2008, the SA and HBS Ventures merged under the SA umbrella to streamline operations, and align the mission of both organizations.