IN MEMORIAM
GEORGE KOZMETSKY
During the summer of 1966, prior to George Kozmetsky’s
becoming dean of the College of Business Administration, one of
the University’s administrators was quoted in the Austin
American-Statesman, “He’ll either be the best dean
we’ve
ever had or the worst. There won’t be any ‘in between’ for
him.”
In his memorial speech on George Kozmetsky, UT President Larry
Faulkner clearly resolved the either/or when he stated, “His institutional
legacy at The University of Texas at Austin is extraordinary, and
his influence will be felt for generations.” President Faulkner
went on to say, “To his University colleagues, he was the
dean who transformed the UT School of Business into a national
leader.”
Over his sixteen year tenure as dean of the UT College and Graduate
School of Business (1966-1982), Kozmetsky brought significant improvements
to nearly every facet of the school, transforming it from a regional
institution into a national powerhouse for research and business
education. He recruited star-quality faculty, encouraged a cross-disciplinary
approach to research and curriculum development, introduced technology
into the curriculum, and upgraded facilities through the construction
of the Graduate School of Business building in 1976. Aside from
his contributions to the stature and reputation of the business
school,
Kozmetsky and his wife, Ronya, made personal financial contributions
to the school and solicited significant endowments from others
that helped propel the school into the national ranks. In short,
he changed
the school’s culture permanently by creating an environment
of overall academic excellence.
Born in Seattle on October 5, 1917, George Kozmetsky’s parents
were George and Nadya Omelanitz Kozmetsky. His life was a successful
mix of academia, industry, government, and family. He received
a B.A. in 1938 from the University of Washington and a M.B.A. in
1947
and a Doctor of Commercial Science in 1957, both from Harvard University.
He continued his educational process throughout his life, periodically
spending time at places such as the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
to catch up on marine biology, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
to refresh his understanding of physics, chemistry, and engineering,
and the Santa Fe Institute to stay abreast of developments in complexity
theory.
George Kozmetsky’s initial academic position was as an instructor
at the Harvard Business School, 1947-1950. He was an assistant
professor at the Carnegie
Institute of Technology, Graduate School of Industrial Administration, Pittsburgh,
PA from 1950-52. His academic career was then suspended for sixteen years while
he pursued a successful career in business.
He returned to academia in 1966 as a professor of management at UT. He was
appointed, in 1967, as adjunct professor of bioengineering, UT Medical School
at San Antonio—a
position he held until 1972. In 1970, he was also appointed professor of computer
sciences at UT and Walker-Ames Professor at the University of Washington. He
held the J. M. West Chair for Constructive Capitalism at UT from 1977-1995
and the Murray S. Johnson Chair in Economics, UT from 1992-2003. He was also
appointed
professor, Department of Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio
in 1983. He was co-director of the Center for Technology Venturing (UT Austin)
during
1988-1992, of the co-director, Center for Energy and Economic Diversification
(UT Permian Basin), during 1991-92, and director of the Manufacturing Sciences
Center, Graduate School of Business (UT Austin) during 1992-95.
During his academic career at UT, Kozmetsky supervised five Ph.D. dissertations
and thirty master’s professional reports, and he encouraged and supported
numerous other students in their educational endeavors. His dedication to teaching
was emphasized in a quote from a letter in his file from Dean Robert E. Witt
on February 25, 1993, which stated, “I am especially appreciative of
your offer to fund the student interns at ATI this spring, in lieu of your
spring
salary.”
George Kozmetsky’s research interests were extensive. He personally identified
the following as research areas: leading edge technologies, technology venturing,
transfer of technology, energy, management of technology, creative and innovative
management, information technology, asset management, artificial intelligence,
national and international competitiveness, economic development, development
of incubators, technopolis phenomenon, advanced manufacturing, concurrent life
cycle, and teaching factory. His methodological scope was as broad as his research
areas. He claimed as professional specialties the fields of systems analysis,
organization theory, quantitative methods, information technology, and technology
venturing.
While working toward his doctoral degree, George Kozmetsky joined a group of
elite researchers at the fledgling Graduate School of Industrial Administration
at Carnegie Institute of Technology that was revolutionizing management education
with its visionary work. While there, he co-authored two publications with
renowned Professor Herbert Simon, including the highly influential “Centralization
vs. Decentralization in Organizing the Controller's Department.” His
doctoral dissertation, Financial Reports of Labor Unions, was published by
the Andover
Press. Kozmetsky continued to be an active scholar; following his deanship,
he published numerous books and articles on a wide range of subjects. His articles
and papers appeared in major professional journals, magazines, and newspapers.
Among the books Kozmetsky co-wrote or co-edited were Making It Together with
his wife, Ronya, Electronic Computers and Management Control, Transformational
Management, Creating the Technopolis, Pacific Cooperation and Development, and
Modern American Capitalism. His most recent books are Global Economic
Competition and Zero Time.
Kozmetsky also authored or co-authored seventy-one professional and research
articles, including "The Role of Information Systems in Management," "Measuring,
Monitoring and Modeling Quality of Life" (with A. Charnes and W. W. Cooper),
and "The Management of Large-Scale Systems." Several of his articles
were influential in structuring technology-based economic development, including "The
'Technopolis' Concept," "The Austin/San Antonio Corridor: The Dynamics
of a Developing Technopolis," and "Creating the Technopolis: High-Technology
Development in Austin, Texas."
George Kozmetsky was also active in numerous learned societies whose scope matched
his intellectual interests. A charter member of The Institute of Management Sciences,
Kozmetsky was chairman of the board, vice president, secretary/treasurer and
served as its fifth president in 1958. He was a fellow of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science. He served as chairman of the Society for Design
and Process Science and was a member of the founding board of directors of the
American Society for Education and Economic Development. He was a member of the
Academy of Political Science, the World Future Society, the American Institute
of CPAs, and the American Society for Oceanography. He was chancellor of the
American Society of Macro-Engineering and a fellow of both the American Association
for the Advancement of Science and the British Interplanetary Society.
George Kozmetsky’s administrative efforts were as impressive as his academic
and research activities. From 1966-1982, he was dean of the College of Business
Administration and of the Graduate School of Business at UT. In addition, he
was executive associate for economic affairs in The University of Texas System.
During his deanship in 1977, Kozmetsky founded the IC2 Institute, a think tank
charged with researching the intersection of business, government, and education.
It was Kozmetsky’s vision of the Technopolis, studied and written about
by the fellows at IC2, which has largely shaped the development of Austin in
the last two decades.
In 1983, Kozmetsky and IC2 were enlisted in the collaborative effort to convince
Microelectronics and Computer Technology Corporation (MCC) that Austin should
be its home. The city, at George’s instigation, sold itself as not just
what it was but as what it would become. A similar approach was used to attract
3M in 1984 and Sematech in 1988. Later, AMD, Motorola, Samsung, and many others
followed suit, fulfilling George’s vision of the technopolis. He was
director of the IC2 Institute until 1995, when he became chairman of the IC2
advisory
board and a senior research fellow of the Institute.
The IC2 Institute is just one of the dozens of ways Kozmetsky helped spark
the technology revolution. Long before anyone thought of the name Silicon Hills,
Kozmetsky saw there was a place for educational institutions, government, and
businesses to team up to stimulate the growth of technology centers. Through
his influence, UT started offering classes in entrepreneurship, began looking
for ways to commercialize its technical discoveries, and assisted in the creation
of the Austin Technology Incubator. The Incubator has "graduated" sixty-five
companies since 1989 that went on to employ 2,850 people and generated $1.2
billion in revenue. Four of these companies went public. He was also the guiding
force
behind the founding of the Texas Capital Network, which provides funding support
for entrepreneurial activities.
In 1952, when George Kozmetsky took his extended sabbatical from academics, he
became assistant controller and member, Technical Staff of the Advanced Electronics
Laboratory, Hughes Aircraft Company, Culver City, CA. In 1954, he left Hughes
to join Tex Thornton at Litton Industries where he was director of the Computers
and Controls Division and then corporate vice president and assistant general
manager of the Electronic Equipments Division. In 1960, Kozmetsky, along with
Henry Singleton, founded Teledyne, Inc. which, by 1966, was in the Fortune 500.
Kozmetsky was executive vice president of Teledyne, Inc. until he joined UT in
1966. An acknowledged expert in high technology and venture capital, he helped
develop over 100 technology-based companies. He served on numerous boards of
directors including those of Gulf Oil, La Quinta, and Heizer Inc. He was one
of the first two directors of Dell Computer Corporation and was director emeritus
of Dell until 2003. Kozmetsky also served state and federal governments as an
advisor, commissioner, and panel member of various task forces, commissions,
and policy boards. He regularly testified on business and technology issues before
state and federal legislators.
George Kozmetsky also had a distinguished career in public service. He was in
the Reserve Officers Training Corps and became a medical corps officer in the
Army during World War II. He earned a bronze star, a silver star, and a purple
heart for wounds suffered while assisting soldiers on the front line. He was
a member of the Santa Fe Institute Board of Trustees (1988-1992), a member of
the Claremont Graduate University Board of Fellows (1999-2003), co-chair of CBIRD
Bi-national Advisory Board (1999-2003), a member of the U.S. Air Force Scientific
Advisory Board, a member of the SEI Center for Advanced Strategic Management
Board of Directors (The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania) (1989-2003),
and chairman of the Texas Manufacturing Technology Advisory Committee (Texas
State Technical College, Waco) (1990-2003).
As befits someone who made substantial contributions in academia, business,
and public service, George Kozmetsky received numerous awards. The awards began
at
Harvard where he was a Baker Scholar, continued with his award of an honorary
Doctor of Humane Letters from St. Edward’s University in 1988, and culminated
with his being one of nine recipients of the 1993 National Medal of Technology.
His other awards included the 1987-88 Dow Jones Award from the American Assembly
of Collegiate Schools of Business for his outstanding contributions to management
education and the 1988 Thomas Jefferson Award from the Technology Transfer
Society for his work in advancing technology transfer. In addition, he was
inducted into
the Texas Business Hall of Fame for his business contributions to the state
of Texas. In 1989, he received the University of Washington Alumnus Summa Dignatus
Award. He received two awards in recognition of his entrepreneurial activities;
he was named Austin’s 1992 Entrepreneur of the Year Supporter of Entrepreneurship
and received the first Entrepreneurial Leadership Award from the MIT Enterprise
Forum of Cambridge, Inc.
Kozmetsky also received the CBA Foundation Award for Distinguished Scholastic
Contribution in 1976 and was made special visitor, Wolfson College, Cambridge
University in 1989. In 1992, he was made a full member of the International
Academy of Sciences of Higher Education (Commonwealth of Independent States—formerly
USSR); in 1994, he received the Lien d'Or Award, Groupe ESC Lyon (France) and
the Austin Area Texas Exes' Outstanding Educator Award. The following year
he was given the Stewardship of Texas Values Award from the Texas Lyceum Association,
and in 2000, he was given the Corporate Responsibility Award by the Mexican
American
Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The YWCA of Austin honored him among its
first Mentors and Allies for his sensitivity and gender blindness that goes
beyond the definition of mentor to a promoter of women in leadership positions.
Kozmetsky is survived by Ronya, his wife of fifty-nine years; a son, Gregory,
and his wife Cindy, of Austin; a daughter, Nadya Scott of Santa Monica; seven
grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren. Another son, George, predeceased
him.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting of
Professors James S. Dyer (chair), Tim Ruefli, and John Butler.
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