[1][2] His father, James, worked as a supervisor at a steel plant; his mother, Marian Leisey, was a high school teacher.
In 1972, he became the first faculty member to be conferred the inaugural Excellence in Teaching Award, in recognition of his work in the first-year Master of Business Administration (MBA) program.
He was appointed by Lawrence Summers, President of Harvard University, to the post on a full-time basis eight months later on April 24,[4][5] despite being a dark horse candidate.
[1] During his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of a $600 million capital campaign that raised money towards student financial aid, hiring faculty, technology initiatives, and campus infrastructure.
HBS introduced courses that saw MBA students travel to Asia, Africa, and South America, in addition to a joint degree program with Harvard Medical School.
He also laid the foundations for Harvard Innovation Labs, which opened a year after his retirement, and oversaw the refurbishment of the Baker Library.