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| King Haakon VII and Lehmkuhl at the opening day, 7th September 1936 |
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After much lobbying and hard work, Norges Handelshøyskole (NHH - the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration) was finally opened by King Haakon VII on Monday the 7th of September, 1936. This was 10 years before the University of Bergen was established. The strong involvement of the business community in Bergen had ensured that not only was the school established, but that it was established in Bergen and was closely linked to business community from the very start.
In his opening speech at the inauguration of NHH in 1936 Kristofer Lehmkuhl impressed on the students the importance of business ethics and morals. "It is not unusual", he said, "to hear merchants characterised as unnecessary intermediaries and as a class of people with different concepts of right and wrong. In view of my long and varied experience, I feel I have the right to say that the world cannot dispense with merchants; furthermore the morals, the concepts of honesty, uprightness and the duty of the merchant world are more than equal to those of other groups of people. This is only natural. Trade can only flourish in openness and honesty. A merchant is a man of his word, whether written or oral."
Lehmkuhl concluded his speech with inspiring word for the new students, "You shall create you own station in life, but at the same time the high endeavours behind your work shall serve the country and society where you live. Civic spirit and civic duty shall lead your work and your life." Kristofer Lehmkuhl was awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of St Olav for his efforts.
When NHH first opened, the academic staff consisted of less than ten people and sixty students were enrolled each year. The first degree course offered was the Handelsdiplom (business diploma) and graduates received the title Handelskandidat (business graduate). This was initially a two-year course and, starting in 1938, a one-year additional course was offered to candidates who wanted to become teachers. As with all the business schools in Scandinavia at the time, the curriculum was very influenced by the German business education model. Business administration and economics were central to the curriculum, and in addition students had to study a language (English, German and French were taught, from the beginning and Spanish from 1952) and to study one of law, economic geography or economic history. In 1946 the Handelsdiplom course was extended to three years.
Right from the very first days the students at NHH were an active group, keen to make the best of their time as students at Norway's first business school. On Friday 11th September 1936 the new students met and established a Student Committee that on Wednesday 16th September brought NHH Studentforeningen (NHHS - NHH Student Association) into existence.
In the early days NHHS became involved in many of the daily issues, both large and small, faced by students as the school educated its first students. Company visits and excursions were organised to fill a natural desire to become acquainted with the local business community and social functions were arranged, with many lively evening meetings with speeches and debates as well as the more traditional balls and parties. The NHHS mountain cabin Kramboden was officially inaugurated in 1938, providing the students with a country retreat for recreation and social events. In 1948 NHHS became one of the six founder members of AIESEC, an organisation that facilitates work abroad exchange programmes for students and is now the largest student run organisation in the world. Music has long been a tradition of NHHS and in 1950 the male choir Svæveru' was established, a group that is still going strong.
Leadership development was seen as an important part in rebuilding the Norwegian nation after the Second World War, and Professor Rolf Waaler (later Rector) realised that an organisation promoting leadership development had to be established outside of the business school or university system in order to achieve the proper focus and attention. In 1952 AFF (Administrativt Forsknings Fond - the Administrative Research Institute) was established as a separate part of the NHH group, becoming one of the first institutions in Europe within the field of leadership development. The Yale professor E. Wight Bakke conducted a thorough evaluation of the Solstrand leadership training programme run by AFF in 1957, and called it "One of the few outstanding examples of executive development programmes in the world".
After the Second World War, American influence became more important in the teaching of economics and business administration. Graduates and staff began to go to the US to continue their studies and work for a period, a trend that greatly increased in the 1960's and 1970's. By the early 1950's the need for a doctorial programme at NHH had grown. In 1956 NHH received permission from the Norwegian government to award doctorates and in 1957 Ole Myrvoll (later Mayor of Bergen and Minister of Finance) became the first doctorial candidate to graduate from NHH.
The need for further and continuing education was also identified as an area that NHH should play a leading role in. In 1959 NHH Kurskirsomhet (NHHK - NHH Foundation for Lifelong Learning) was founded to develop competence in the economic and business administration. The target group was initially Handelsdiplom (and later Siviløkonom) graduates who required further education, but people with other academic backgrounds and people without higher education quickly became important target groups as well. NHHK establish a series of both courses and specialist seminars that would grow and develop with the needs of the business community and public administration.
Continue on to 1963-1980: A new campus and rapid growth.
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