Thunderbird Archives

Today we flashback 60 years ago courtesy of the 1962 AIFT Yearbook. Here is a link to the digitized version, take a moment to browse with us: https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmyear/id/3/rec/12

Celebrating Thunderbird's history and future!

Message from the Dean:
Hello T-birds and Happy 75th Founders' Day! 75 years ago, the founders of Thunderbird came back from World War II and set up this magical institution out in the desert of Arizona. Which, over this past 75 years has been a global vanguard, a leader of bringing the world together. When Thunderbird was founded, most of the peoples of the world were under colonial rule, including my family. The school grew and rose to prominence through the Cold War’s early years, through the formation of the New International Economic Order, to the end of the Cold War and Globalization 3.0 in the 1990s. Global management education continued to change rapidly after 9/11, facing major disruption again with the global financial crisis of 2008–09, and the COVID-19 pandemic… Thunderbird changed with it. I am convinced that Thunderbird is ready for the next 75 years. Thank you Founders, past and present, for your contributions to this spectacular institution. We welcome you to our official grand opening celebration happening from 6:30 - 10 p.m. MST tonight!

- Dr. Sanjeev Khagram, Director General & Dean

We are excited for this week's Grand Opening and Anniversary event and the opportunity to show off the new building! Stay tuned for more photos!

Happy 75th Anniversary T-birds! We look forward to celebrating the Grand Opening of our new Global Headquarters in downtown Phoenix and our 75th Anniversary Global Reunion with you this April. Our event committee has assembled a unique line up of events with opportunities for everyone to be a part of this important milestone in Thunderbird history.
𝗥𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗼𝘄: thunderbird.asu.edu/75/register

Every day is International Women's Day at Thunderbird! Today we would like to reach into the archives and highlight a special issue of the alumni magazine. This particular issue presented the results of a 1992 survey of women in business. Take a look at the results and let us know, how have things changed for women in business since that time?

Link to article: https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmama/id/67/rec/71

This week installation of artwork and historic materials begins! Enjoy some behind-the-scenes and “in process,” moments. (Photos by the Thunderbird Archivist and Suzy Howell)

Timeline photos

Thunderbird School of Global Management Throwback!

Pictured here is an aerial view of Thunderbird's Glendale campus in 1946 and its Global Headquarters in 2022.

Thunderbird will be celebrating the grand opening of its new state-of-the-art Global Headquarters during the school's 75th Anniversary celebration & Global Alumni Reunion from April 4-10, 2022.

Stay tuned for registration opening next week!

Introduction to Thunderbird School of Global Management Archives and Pub | ASU Library

In Fall 2021, our archivist wrote a blog post about the history of the Thunderbird Pub as an introduction to the school for the ASU community: https://lib.asu.edu/news/introduction-thunderbird-school-global-management-archives-and-pub

Introduction to Thunderbird School of Global Management Archives and Pub | ASU Library Published Oct. 25, 2021 Updated Nov. 17, 2021 The Thunderbird collections represent unique materials that document the rich 75 year history of the top schools for international business in the world. Thunderbird’s cultural heritage is an important part of the School’s brand and image and an impo...

Group photo of a Thunderbird alumni meeting. We believe the photo to be from the mid-1970s.

Kneeling: Gerald Heck '54, Joe Ringer '68, Charlie Emmanuel '72, Bill King '73, Tom Krill '69, Robbie Nimmo '68

Ladies: Joan Tung, Sally Ann Holbrook, Carol Thomas, Senorita de Nahrona, Kyoko Tanda, Hiroko Byrne, Bonnie Brown, Evelyn Heck, Patricia Hall, Karen McCann

Standing: Kris Anderson '72, John Tung '64, Bob Louis, George Mendenhall '62, Jim Sweeney '61, Buck Brown '71, Don Jacobson '59, Bob Heinemann '60, Terry Thomas '65, Barry Byne '58, George Martin '59, Merle Heinrichs '65, Ken Holbrook '66, Howard Hall '60, Don McCann '65

Sharing additional photos from the archives that feature Thunderbird alumni. These photographs are from the Valley of the Sun Alumni meeting on July 11, 1969. Sorry, no identifying information for individuals in the photographs but it looks like they were having a good time!

Our staff came across this gem of a photo this week featuring Thunderbird alumni. The handwritten caption on the back reads, "European AGSIM Alumni Chapter." There is no date given for the photo but we estimate it to be the mid to late 1970s. We also do not know the location.

Names are listed on the back (note that some are difficult to read because of handwriting):

Standing left to right:
Ursula & Ken Bennett, Vic & Denise Martinez, Louise & Bill Dursma (?), Lona Hertel, Anne Walton, Gisela & Herb Solbrig, Mrs. Greg Milliman

Kneeling left to right:
Bill & Gerry Syms, Salwa Morcos, Elsie & Dana (?) Dorr, Greg Milliman

Let us know if you have any connections to these alumni and share your own reunion memories!

Hi Tbird family! It's been a minute since our last post but we have been busy preparing for the move to the new Thunderbird building! Here are photos of the process of de-installing and packing artwork and heritage items. We look forward to installing everything in the new Global Headquarters!

ASU Thunderbird kicks off 75th anniversary celebrations with Founders' Day

ASU Thunderbird kicks off 75th anniversary celebrations with Founders' Day ASU alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to celebrate the 75th anniversary of ASU's Thunderbird School of Global Management on its Founders' Day, April 8.

How Gen. Henry 'Hap' Arnold, the Architect of American Air Power, Overcame His Fear of Flying

Let's celebrate General Hap Arnold! General Arnold, who authorized civilian training bases for World War II, knew the U.S. would need more air training bases if they were to enter the war. Congress, however, disagreed and would only authorize the expansion of one training base, Randolph Field. Arnold circumvented Congress and sent out a call for civilian flight operators to gamble their dollars building training fields to teach Air Corps cadets to fly. In the meantime, test pilot John Connelly and movie producer Leland Hayward had recognized a similar need and formed Southwest Airways attracting investors like Henry Fonda, Hoagy Carmichael, and Jimmy Stewart. They started construction of Thunderbird Field No. 1 on Jan. 2, 1941, on nothing more than a memo and a handshake. The field opened on March 22nd of that year. And the rest is Thunderbird history!

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian-institution/how-gen-henry-hap-arnold-architect-american-air-power-overcame-his-fear-flying-180977206/

How Gen. Henry 'Hap' Arnold, the Architect of American Air Power, Overcame His Fear of Flying Despite his phobia, the five-star general built the U.S. Air Force

Look at us now Thunderbird 1988 Source

Today we are bringing you a treat from the vaults! Here is a Thunderbird promotional video from 1988. Enjoy!

Look at us now Thunderbird 1988 Source

Digitization update: we have now scanned Thunderbird catalogs for the years 1946-1980 and 2000-2015. We will work on filling in the missing years as time and staffing allow. The catalogs are a great source of information about the school's faculty, calendar, courses, and vision statements. Enjoy! https://repository.asu.edu/collections/263

Remembering back to 2017 when Thunderbird staff and faculty celebrated Dia de Los Mu***os. Everyone did an amazing job designing "altares" to honor former staff, faculty, events, and programs. What a clever, thoughtful, and creative tribute to the school's history!

Foundations Fall 2020 - Flag Ceremony

The Thunderbird Flag Ceremony continues in a uniquely Tbird way. Our students are amazing!

Foundations Fall 2020 - Flag Ceremony Join a new flock of T-birds as they partake in the Thunderbird tradition of the presentation of flags ceremony. Follow their Foundations journey on social media…

It's been a long, hot summer here in Arizona. We are reminiscing about days spent by the pool on the Thunderbird Glendale campus. Good times! (Photo circa 2015)

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Thunderbird Archives is excited to announce that we have been adding issues to our digital alumni magazine archive. You can now browse issues from 1950-2018! Each issue is a little gem of insight into what was going on at the school at the time, including people, programs, and scenery. Enjoy! (Don't forget to come back to this page and give us feedback!)
https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmama/search/page/1

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Thunderbird Alumni Fund for the Pub

The Thunderbird Pub is such an important part of the School's history! We look forward to the next chapter of its story in the new downtown Phoenix building. https://pitchfunder.asufoundation.org/project/19945

Thunderbird Alumni Fund for the Pub Arizona State University, Thunderbird Alumni Fund for the Pub - Make a Gift today!

News of Thunderbirds, July 1960

Hi everyone! Are you in need of some good reading materials? Today we feature the 1960 issue of the School's early alumni magazine from one of our many online digital collections. "News of Thunderbirds" was one of the early iterations of the alumni magazine, developed to inform alumni about what was going on at the American Institute for Foreign Trade. In addition, the publication was meant to keep T-bird alumni connected around the world. Take a look and let us know what you think!
https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmama/id/100/rec/9

News of Thunderbirds, July 1960

Thunder Love - Das Tor

Happy Valentine's Day, Thunderbird family! Over the years we have heard many ThunderLove and ThunderCouple stories, sharing one today from a recent Das Tor article.

Thunder Love - Das Tor Story by Alex and Christine Davis, Class of December 2012 It was Club Day; late summer 2011. I was beginning my third trimester at T-Bird, [...]

Temperatures are dipping here in the Valley of the Sun (45 degrees...brrr!) and we are reminded of a time when the whirlpool bath fountain froze, circa 1985. The fountain was donated to the School in 1981 by Ken whirlpool bath (Class of '79).

The Tragic and Shocking Assassination of JFK

On this day, 56 years ago US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. In 1983, near the 20th anniversary of the event, Thunderbird faculty member Richard D. Mahoney published a book called JFK: Ordeal in Africa. The Fall 1983 issue of Thunderbird magazine summarized this interesting publication: https://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmama/id/27/rec/1

The Tragic and Shocking Assassination of JFK On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was riding in a convertible limousine in Dallas when he was shot by assassin Lee Harvey Oswald.

Thunderbird breaks ground on new global HQ at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus

Thunderbird breaks ground on new global HQ at ASU's Downtown Phoenix campus The Thunderbird School of Global Management broke ground on its new headquarters on Monday with a renewed commitment to globalism. The international management school will move into its new building on the downtown campus of Arizona State University in April 2021 — its 75th anniversary.

Excited for the groundbreaking event!

Are you unable to make our official groundbreaking of our new building? Don’t worry, we will be streaming the ceremony live! Follow the link below to access the live feed today at 4:30PM MST/AZ
https://thunderbird.asu.edu/students/attend-event

A gallery of images of the School's current and past Presidents.

A gallery of images of the School's current and past Presidents.

Welcome back Thunderbird students! Enjoy this photograph of students on campus in 1987.

The Thunderbird, Summer 1979

What was Thunderbird School of Global Management like 40 years ago? Check out this issue of the Thunderbird magazine from Summer of 1979 to see what students, staff, and alumni were up to. Times have changed but our global focus has stayed the same!

The Thunderbird, Summer 1979

Congratulations Thunderbird graduates!

Today is the day...let’s carry our flags...bask in the mystique...and

Shocked and saddened by the sudden passing of our valued colleague, and Thunderbird alumna, Chelsea Olson. She was an important supporter and advocate for the Thunderbird archives. Her loss is significant but we hope to continue to preserve the Thunderbird story in a way that honors her spirit and memory.

Sorry to hear about the passing of longtime faculty member, Joaquim Duarte. Professor Duarte arrived at Thunderbird in 1963 to teach Latin American studies. Click on this link to read an article about Duarte reflecting on his first 30 years with the school.: http://azmemory.azlibrary.gov/digital/collection/tgmama/id/68/rec/1

Thunderbird Magazine

Check out the most recent edition of our alumni magazine! There is an article written by our archivist on page 11 all about managing Thunderbird's historical materials during the transition. Lots of other good articles too!

Thunderbird Magazine Fall 2018