Business professor Carpenter passes away

Mason A. Carpenter, beloved professor of strategic management, M. Keith Weikel Professor in Leadership and associate dean of evening and executive master of business administration programs in the Wisconsin School of Business, passed away on Sept. 22 after a battle with cancer.

He was 50.

Carpenter joined the management and human resources faculty in the Wisconsin School of Business after earning his doctoral degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1997.     

At the university, Carpenter was a highly productive and impactful researcher, as well as an award-winning teacher. He was also a tremendous citizen not only at UW–Madison, but in the field of management and human resources.

“Mason was a highly-respected researcher, educator, academic leader and, above all, an extraordinary person,” says François Ortalo-Magné, dean of the Wisconsin School of Business. “He enriched the lives of everyone he met: students, colleagues, communities and organizations around the world.”

As associate dean, he was responsible for managing, expanding and raising the profile of the business school’s MBA programs for working professionals. In the spring 2011, the Wisconsin Evening MBA rose to 11th in U.S. News and World Report’s annual rankings of part-time MBA programs.

His research in strategic management focused on corporate governance, top management teams, social networks and the strategic management of global startups and was published widely in leading management and strategy journals.  

His teaching accomplishments include MBA Professor of the Year, notoriety as one of the two most popular professors in several BusinessWeek MBA program polls, the Larson Excellence in Teaching Award from the Wisconsin School of Business and, most recently, a Distinguished Teaching Award from UW–Madison.

Carpenter was responsible for undergraduate and MBA-level courses in business, corporate and global strategy. His numerous books are used in leading undergraduate, MBA and executive education courses around the world.  

In addition, Carpenter served as an associate editor of the Academy of Management Review and as chair of the Corporate Strategy and Governance division of the Strategic Management Society (SMS).  In 2010, he received the SMS Outstanding Service Award. He also advised top management teams and business unit leaders for leading firms in North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia and Southeast Asia.  

He is survived by his wife, Lisa, sons Zachary and Wesley, and other family members.

A fund has been set up to help the Carpenter family. Donations may be directed to the Carpenter Family Fund, M&I Bank, 7447 University Ave., Middleton, WI 53562.

A celebration of Carpenter’s life will be held at at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at Asbury United Methodist Church, 6101 University Ave. A visitation will take place from 4–7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 27, at Gunderson West Funeral Home, 7435 University Ave., Middleton, and from 1–2 p.m. Wednesday at Asbury United Methodist Church.