Ronald Edward Frank

Ronald Edward Frank died on July 1 at age 92 in Atlanta, GA. He was born in 1933 in Chicago, Illinois to Raymond and Ethel Frank. He attended Sullivan High School in Chicago and then went to Northwestern University, completing his Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1955 and his Master of Business Administration in 1956. In 1960 he received his PhD in Marketing from the University of Chicago. Dr. Frank held faculty positions at the Harvard Business School, the Stanford Graduate School of Business, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. During his two decades at Wharton, he served as Director of Research and PhD programs and Vice Dean. In 1984, he became the Dean of the Krannert Business School at Purdue University, where he served until 1989. He accepted a position as Dean and Asa Griggs Candler professor of Marketing at the Business School at Emory University in Atlanta. During the nine years he was at Emory, the school ranking in US News and World Report rose substantially from 31 to 21, becoming one of the top 25 business schools in the nation. He initiated key fund-raising efforts which led to the naming of the school for Roberto C. Goizueta (then Chairman and CEO of the Coca-Cola Company).

In 1999 Dr. Frank was appointed to the Board of Trustees of Singapore Management University. He held that position until 2001 when he became the President of the University. During his three years as president the institution experienced significant growth, including the addition of two schools, a threefold increase in both faculty and student enrollment, and the successful securing of major philanthropic contributions. He continued his association with SMU serving as Chairman of its Strategic Issues Advisory Committee from 2004 to 2008. During his academic career, Dr. Frank was the founding editor of the Journal of Consumer Research as well as a prolific writer of over 50 articles. He authored or co-authored 12 books, and for over a decade was the fourth most-cited author in marketing. During his long academic career, he served as a consultant to such companies as AT&T, Bell Canada, Coca-Cola, Companies Cuauhtemoc, The Market Research Corporation of America and Prentice-Hall.

Dr. Frank is a long-time resident of Atlanta, GA. He married his wife, Iris, in 1958. She and their eldest daughter Linda, preceded him in death. He is survived by his two daughters, Lauren Frank and Kim Tsao and his grandson, Jeffrey Tsao. A memorial reception will be scheduled in the near future.