Jay William Lorsch

Jay W. Lorsch, the Louis E. Kirstein Professor of Human Relations, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School and a renowned expert on corporate boards, passed away peacefully at home on August 5th at the age of 92.

Born in St. Joseph, Missouri, Prof. Lorsch earned his BA at Antioch College in 1955, his MBA at Columbia in 1957, and his DBA at Harvard in 1963 where he joined the faculty in 1964. Shortly thereafter, and in collaboration with his longtime friend and colleague Prof. Paul Lawrence, he published his first noteworthy book, Organization and Environment: Managing Differentiation and Integration – named best management book of 1969 by the Academy of Management.

In a career that spanned over five decades, Prof. Lorsch influenced generations of students through teaching and scholarship that contributed significantly to the shape of modern corporate governance and to the development of contingency theory. He published 20 books and over 150 HBS case studies. In 2005 he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences on the basis of his contributions to the field of organizational behavior.

Prof. Lorsch served on the boards of public companies on both sides of the Atlantic and was the recipient of many honors. He was elected to Directorship magazine's Corporate Governance Hall of Fame in 2009. During his tenure at HBS, he served as Senior Associate Dean and Director of Research, Senior Associate Dean and Chair of Executive Education, Chair of the Doctoral Programs, Chair of the Advanced Management Program, and Unit Head for Organizational Behavior. He retired in 2022.

Along with his wife Patricia, Prof. Lorsch was active in politics, encouraging new candidates, and supporting progressive causes. Over his long life, he was devoted to political activism, tennis, the Harvard Business School, and his family.

Prof. Lorsch is survived by his wife of 47 years, Patricia Welbourn Lorsch, his children Robin Lorsch Wildfang of Over Aastrup, Denmark, Jon (Kirstie) Lorsch of Kensington, Maryland, David (Donna) Lorsch of Tiburon, California, and his stepchildren Lucinda Hodgson of Mahtomedi, Minnesota and Jonathan (AJ) Hodgson of Cambridge, Massachusetts. He will be remembered by his 8 grandchildren and 2 great grandchildren.