The Ticker
jnrobertson@uh.edu
Senior Communications Manager
Memories of Jack Ivancevich – Richard DeFrank
I first met Jack Ivancevich about 30 years ago when I came to Houston as a post-doctoral fellow. We had a common interest in research on stress and related topics, and continued to talk about and work on these issues together for the next three decades. More than a colleague, he was a supportive friend and sounding board and will be greatly missed.
I have many great memories of Jack. Some of the earliest involved sitting with him in his old faculty office in McElhinney and talking for two to three hours at a time. Much of that time was about work – he was very serious about work – but much of the time the topic was sports, or his growing up in Chicago, or our families. Whenever I’d mention an issue or problem with my kids, he’d always say “Just you wait”, hinting at future concerns that he had already faced. What he hadn’t faced at that time was the passing of his daughter Dana , which was so devastating for him and Pegi.
I remember working on a lab experiment with Jack and Mike Matteson that was spectacularly unsuccessful and a source of rueful laughter for years. I remember how bad his handwriting was, putting a significant strain on the deciphering skills of his secretaries and co-authors. I remember that he could be serious and even intimidating, but he had a great laugh, even when he was the butt of the joke.
For those who didn’t know Jack, he was immensely productive with an energy level that put most everyone else to shame. The books he authored, the articles he wrote, the consulting, the teaching – all were done at a rate and at a level of quality that were remarkable. He was a very dedicated and skilled teacher, and the impact that his illness had on his ability to meet with his students was extremely distressing to him. But he was also very private about many things, especially his health, and rarely opened up to his colleagues as to how he was really doing.
Almost three years ago to this day, Jack and Pegi came to our house for a departmental party, which was the last social event at which I saw him. It was always interesting seeing the two of them together as Jack was such a large man and Pegi so petite, but she matched him in energy and probably exceeded him in positivity. Her attitude and support were sorely taxed during his long illness, but she remained tremendously upbeat and dedicated and we have the utmost admiration for her.
There are many in the Bauer community who never knew Jack, and I am sorry that you will never have the chance to interact with a most interesting, inquisitive, significant man. For those of us who were his friends and colleagues, and in whose lives he played such a large role, we are sorry to say goodbye to someone who has a special, unique place in both our profession and our hearts.
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The C.T. Bauer College of Business has been in operation for more than 60 years at the University of Houston main campus. Through its five academic departments, the college offers a full-range of undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in business. The Bauer College is fully accredited by the AACSB International - the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. In August 2000, Houston business leader and philanthropist Charles T. (Ted) Bauer endowed the College of Business with a $40 million gift. In recognition of his generosity, the college was renamed the C.T. Bauer College of Business.