Trustee John Griffin and President Gleason L. Archer founded what would eventually become the Sawyer Business School as a department within the College of Liberal Arts.
The school’s first class had just two part-time faculty members and eight students. Today, it has over 100 faculty members, 3,000 students, and 27,000 alumni worldwide. Named after University benefactor and entrepreneur Frank Sawyer, HDCS ’79, Sawyer Business School remains committed to his goal of providing access to quality education in a supportive environment.
When he died in 1992 at the age of 97, Sawyer was mourned as both a business leader and philanthropist. He was a generous contributor to several institutions of higher education, including the business school at Suffolk University which now bears his name.
Sawyer never went to college, but he had great respect for education and for those who struggle to pay for it. “My father identified with Suffolk University,” says Sawyer’s daughter, Carol Sawyer Parks, HDCS ’82 herself, a trustee of the University. “His business and the University grew up together in Boston. While he was striving to be successful, he watched as Suffolk University helped working students achieve their goals.”