Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management is a private business school in Lake Forest, Illinois. It opened in 1946 as a response to the need for WWII veterans to translate their experience into practical business skills and foundational business knowledge. In 2004, the institution moved its campus to its present location near the Tri-State Tollway. As of 2022, its graduate programs include a Leadership MBA, Leadership Foundations Graduate Certificate, and open-enrollment, non-credit executive education courses. The campus of Lake Forest Graduate School of Management is also associated with the Lake Forest Center for Leadership, which offers leadership development consultation and customized programming to be held within external organizations.

History
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management was created to respond to a business need in the Lake Forest, Illinois area as a shortage of management talent left local industry in need of leadership.

To address the issue, three companies, Abbott Laboratories, Fansteel Metallurgical Corporation, and Johns-Manville Products Corporation joined with Lake Forest College to form the Lake Forest College Industrial Management Institute (IMI) in 1946. IMI provided management training for returning veterans to help them transition into business.

Since then LFGSM amicably separated from Lake Forest College, changed its name to Lake Forest Graduate School of Management, and established itself as a provider of both degree and non-degree business management education in the Chicago metropolitan area. LFGSM operates as an independent, private, not-for-profit organization.

LFGSM is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and authorized to grant master's degrees by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Hotchkiss scholar
The highest honor conferred upon a graduating student from LFGSM is to be named a Hotchkiss scholar. Hotchkiss Scholars are selected on the basis of outstanding academic achievement and demonstrated commitment to the spirit of excellence. Hotchkiss Scholar eligibility is limited to the top 5% of the graduating class, based on Grade Point Average (GPA) ranking. The Hotchkiss Scholar award was established in 1984 in honor of Eugene Hotchkiss III, President Emeritus of Lake Forest College and former member of the LFGSM Board of Directors. Hotchkiss Scholars are announced at graduation and they are also invited to an annual dinner in the fall.