The early efforts of AASU had a direct influence on the HBS classroom. In response to AASU's core demands, HBS began to broaden the focus of its curriculum. Existing first–year required courses such as "Human Behavior in Organizations" and "Planning and the Business Environment" started to incorporate case studies on Black entrepreneurship and corporate expansion into urban environments. Changes occurred in the second–year elective curriculum with courses like "Business and Society in Black Africa," "Systems Analysis: The City," and "Black Power and the Business Community." Students could pursue self–directed research reports, initiate seminars of their own design, or cross–enroll in courses of related interest at Harvard or M.I.T. HBS also increased African American faculty representation. Ulric St. Clair Haynes Jr. served as a visiting professor from 1968 to 1972, and Stuart Taylor and Charles Johnson joined the faculty soon after.

Planning and the Business Environment

George C. Lodge taught the required first–year course "Planning and the Business Environment," which focused on external influences affecting business enterprises, particularly political, demographic, cultural, and technological shifts in society at large.

Organizational Development in the Inner City

In the fall semester of 1969, Paul R. Lawrence offered a second–year elective entitled "Organizational Development in the Inner City." AASU founding member Clifford E. Darden (MBA '69, DBA '82), the course assistant, helped to develop the case materials.

Black Power and the Business Community

Ulric St. Clair Haynes Jr. introduced the seminar "Black Power and the Business Community," presented from the point of view of Black entrepreneurs and managers. Haynes was president of Management Formation, Inc., a firm focused on increasing diversity in managerial positions.

Early Years & Activism COGME & SVMP