November 1, 2011. In Memoriam, Robe

November 1, 2011. In Memoriam, Robert J. House
In Memoriam
June 16, 1932 – November 1, 2011
November 2011 by by Mary (House) & Mike Goldman, with permission
Professor Robert J. House received his Ph.D. degree in Management from Ohio State University, June 1960. He went on to hold faculty appointments at Ohio State University, University of Michigan and City University of New York. He joined the University of Toronto in 1973 as Shell Professor of Organizational Behavior, and was pivotal in the establishment of the school’s PhD program. From 1986 to 1988 House was the Secretary of State Professor of Organizational Effectiveness at the Rotman School of Management. In 1988 he was appointed the Joseph Frank Bernstein Professor Endowed Chair of Organization Studies at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
A prolific writer, he authored more than 130 journal articles and many book chapters. His articles have been reprinted in numerous anthologies. He is a cofounder of the premier leadership journal, Leadership Quarterly, where he also served as executive editor. House received the Award for Distinguished Scholarly Contribution to Management, and four awards for outstanding publications. The awards were conferred by the Academy of Management and the Canadian Association of Administrative Sciences. He has also authored two papers, which are Scientific Citations Classics.
House was the Principle Investigator and Founder of the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness (GLOBE) Research Program from 1993 through 2003. Among his major contributions is that he founded a non-profit foundation to sustain the GLOBE Project beyond his tenure including a board of directors and a constitution. During this time he visited universities in 38 countries. He has also been a visiting scholar or visiting professor at 14 universities, most of which are in Europe or Asia.
He is a Fellow of the Academy of Management, American Psychological Association, and Society for Industrial/Organizational Psychology. He has served as chairperson of the Academy of Management Division of Organizational Behavior between (1972-73) and President of the Administrative Science Association of Canada (1985-86).
House’s major research interests are the role of personality traits and motives as they relate to effective leadership and organizational performance, power and personality in organizations, leadership, and the implications of cross-cultural variation for effective leadership and organizational performance. For his contributions and friendship, he will be remembered fondly by his colleagues and friends around the world.
Bob’s heart gave up on November 1st. He will be sadly missed by his loving wife Tessa, his adult children, Danny, Tim and Mary, his grandchildren, Ken, James, Gabe, Jessica and Jared, and his two sisters, Mary Lou and Diane.