A historical study of the critical role played by the Ford Foundation in the 1950s and 1960s in the development of modern American graduate management education is presented. The Ford Foundation's entrance into business school reform occurred at an opportune time, as the United States was on the verge of a major boom in college enrollments, and there was a dramatic expansion of those aged 18 to 24 and those ready to invest in a college education. Under such conditions, institutions could strengthen their academic requirements while minimizing the risk of enrollment loss. The most important research and curricular changes during the decade of Ford Foundation activity occurred in quantitative techniques. The foundation was especially concerned with the apparent imbalance between advances in mathematics and those in the behavioral sciences. Four sections are as follows: (1) the Ford Foundation 1936-1953; (2) the revolution (Carnegie Tech: EDA's lightning rod, Harvard: the legitimizer, Columbia: professional education in the liberal tradition, Chicago: the behavioral sciences and business, and Stanford: the last center); (3) from big push to termination: the road not taken (spreading the word, the study of business and education for business, and a grand terminal effort); and (4) what was achieved (substantive reform, the Ford Foundation as a vehicle of reform, and conclusion: business education reform and the business community). (SM)