George Kozmetsky, a legendary figure in the lofty worlds of high-tech business and higher education, died April 30 in Austin, Texas, at the age of 85. Dr. Kozmetsky was a charter member of TIMS who served as the Institute's fifth president in 1958.

Famous for his long work days, technological expertise, business acumen and philanthropy, Dr. Kozmetsky founded, co-founded, funded or helped develop hundreds of businesses and organizations while compiling an illustrious career in academia. Dr. Kozmetsky co-founded Teledyne in 1960 and quickly built the technology firm into a Fortune 500 company. In 1977, he founded the IC2 Institute, a think tank involved in researching the intersection of business, government and education. In between, he served for 16 years as the dean of the College and Graduate School of Business at The University of Texas-Austin. Dr. Kozmetsky continued to serve as Executive Associate for Economic Affairs for The University of Texas System until the time of his death.

Dr. Kozemtsky received the National Medal of Technology Award from President Clinton in 1993.

"George was a great friend who made major contributions to world productivity and to the management sciences," says TIMS founder Melvin Salveson, who served on the first TIMS Council with Dr. Kozmetsky in 1953. (For more on Dr. Kozmetsky, Salveson and the history of TIMS and the management sciences, see story on page 48.)

The RGK Foundation, created in 1966 by Dr. Kozmetsky and his wife of 59 years, Ronya, has distributed tens of millions of dollars to non-profit corporations and other organizations and initiatives. RGK recently pledged $6 million to launch a high-tech alliance between The University of Texas and Stanford.

Considered the "Father of the Technology Industry" in central Texas, Dr. Kozmetsky was one of the first board members of the Dell Computer Corp. Dell Chairman and CEO Michael Dell told the Austin Business Journal that Dr. Kozmetsky was "a towering figure in my life and in the life of this company. George was a visionary who was committed to family, education, community and betterment of the world through technology. He will be missed, but his contributions and his legacy here at Dell certainly live on."

Mark Yudof, chancellor of The University of Texas System, says Dr. Kozmetsky was "one of the nation's most insightful and visionary leaders in the worlds of higher education, business and new technologies. His keen intellectual talents and his drive for creativity and innovation were matched by generous spirit. He was able to see beyond the present horizon and to envision new ways of doing business, new techniques for industry, and new partnerships for a stronger economy and a more productive educational system."

Larry Faulkner, president of The University of Texas at Austin, adds that Dr. Kozmetsky "was a creative force of very rare power and quality, not only in this university but also in the business community worldwide. His institutional legacy here is extraordinary and his influence will be felt for generations."

Born in Seattle on Oct. 5, 1917, Dr. Kozmetsky graduated from the University of Washington at the age of 20. He later enlisted in the U.S. Army and received a Bronze Star, Silver Star and the Purple Heart while serving with The Army Medical Corp during World War II. He continued his studies after the war, earning an MBA and a doctorate degree of commercial science from Harvard University in 1947 and 1957, respectively.

While working toward his doctorate, Dr. Kozmetsky joined a group of elite researchers that was revolutionizing management education with its visionary work. During that timeframe, Dr. Kozmetsky co-authored two publications with renowned Professor Herbert Simon of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, including the highly influential "Centralization vs. Decentralization in Organizing the Controller's Department."

Dr. Kozmetsky served both state and federal governments as an advisor, commissioner and panel member of various task forces, commissions and policy boards. He regularly provided special testimony on business and technology issues to state and federal officials.

His articles and papers appeared in major professional journals, magazines and newspapers. His most recent books are "Creating the Technopolis" [co-editor] (Ballinger, 1988), "Pacific Cooperation and Development" [co-editor] (Praeger Publishers, 1988), "Modern American Capitalism" [co-author] (Quorum Books, 1990) and "Global Economic Competition" [co-author] (Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1997).

Among his many honors and awards, Dr. Kozmetsky received the 1987-88 Dow Jones Award from the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business for his outstanding contributions to management education. More recently, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge, Inc. presented him with its Entrepreneurial Leadership Award. And just last year, Dr. Kozmetsky was one of the inaugural recipients of the Fellow Award from INFORMS.

Sources: McCombs School of Business-The University of Texas, Austin Business Journal and www.informs.org.





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