Beloved Kellogg School teacher and scholar of business history and ethics Lawrence G. Lavengood died July 13.

Professor Emeritus of Business History, Lavengood enjoyed a long tenure at Kellogg, arriving in 1953 and remaining at the school until his retirement in 1994. Even then, he stayed close to Northwestern University, residing in Evanston.

He began his academic career at Northwestern's School of Commerce during a time when executive education was developing and the school was cultivating closer relationships with business practitioners. Professor Lavengood's classes would help students — and sometimes as many as 150 enrolled at a time, filling an auditorium in Memorial Hall — appreciate the rich historical context of U.S. business.

"I regarded the classroom as a kind of theater, and the students, not as the audience but, along with me, the players ... giving shape and substance to our discussions," said Lavengood in 2005.

The course presented an overview of American history from colonial times forward, but with a focus on economics and business. "You can't teach those without exploring a good deal of political and social history as well," recalled Lavengood. "It was a richly textured course."

Lavengood also taught classes on management's social and ethical dimensions, bringing history and the humanities to bear on business, and anticipating trends that would gain currency in management education decades later.

Even recently, Lavengood continued to demonstrate the ranging intellect and wit that informed his teaching, underscoring why the Kellogg School's highest teaching award is named in his honor. — MG