Discussions about a business school at the University of Kansas date back to at least 1903, when KU alumnus (and future president of Columbia National Bank) Thornton Cooke wrote an article in the Graduate Magazine calling for the establishment of a “School of Commerce.” These discussions continued for several years—Cooke wrote a second article on the subject in 1913—until in 1914, the Kansas Board of Administration said that the university would begin offering business classes with the hope of eventually starting a business school.

The Board’s goal was finally achieved in 1924, when they approved the establishment of a new School of Business under the leadership of its first dean, Frank Stockton. To this day, Stockton is the longest-serving Business dean, retiring in 1947 after over 20 years in the role.

The business school began to grow rapidly: in 1930, there were 79 students who graduated with bachelor’s degrees. In 1950, that number was 300. As enrollment increased, the School of Business added more programs to its roster. In 1942, it founded the popular Secretarial Training Program.

After the passage of the Selective Service Act and U.S. entry into World War II, the number of men enrolled in the School of Business dropped dramatically. Women graduates, however, became much more common as men left the workforce and more women began searching for job opportunities. After the war, the returning soldiers caused a surge in enrollment and major growth in the School of Business.

During the tenure of its third dean, James Surface, the School of Business made two important changes, both in 1960. First, the School moved into Summerfield Hall. Second, the School of Business Masters in Business Administration (MBA) program began accepting applicants with bachelor’s degrees in subjects other than business. Surface’s successor, Joseph McGuire, introduced the School’s first doctoral program in 1966.

As its course offerings and graduate programs grew, more students came to the School of Business. Under Joseph Pichler, between the years of 1974 and 1980, enrollment increased by 43%. Under Joseph Bauman, in the first half of the 1990s, the KU School of Business placed in the top 10 of Business Week’s list of the best-value MBA programs.

The School of Business’s second-longest-serving dean, William Fuerst, presided over the School from 2000 to 2011. He increased the number of tenured faculty at the School and introduced the Institute for International Business.

The School of Business left Summerfield Hall after more than 50 years in 2016, when the School relocated to the $70.5 million Capitol Federal (nicknamed "CapFed") Hall.