Professor Emeritus Steve Carroll Dies at 87

Stephen J. Carroll, professor emeritus at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, died in Virginia on Jan. 30, 2018. He was 87.

“Steve was the epitome of what I think about whenever hearing the phrase ‘Gentleman and Scholar,’” Smith School professor Lawrence A. Gordon wrote on a tribute page set up by Carroll’s family. “My life was greatly enriched by having Steve as a colleague.”

Carroll was born on Aug. 23, 1930, in Boston and served in the U.S. Navy for six years. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Arts and a PhD from the University of Minnesota. He joined the UMD faculty in 1964.

He was chair of the Management and Organization Department for several years and served in other Smith School administrative capacities. He chaired or served on numerous doctoral dissertation committees and received many teaching awards, including being named a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher at UMD in 1979.

Carroll authored or coauthored more than 100 published papers and 14 books. He also produced three book revisions and two monographs. He was an early pioneer in promoting evidence-based management practices as they relate to various human resource management issues.

Many of his earliest papers focused on management by objectives based on innovative studies at Black & Decker, the Packing Corporation of America and other companies. A considerable part of his later work was carried out through field studies and field experiments on managerial mentoring and executive human resource management issues.

He was an elected fellow of several scientific organizations, including the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and the American Psychological Society.

Carroll received the prestigious Herbert Heneman Jr. Career Achievement Award from the Academy of Management Human Resource Management Division in 2010. He was a consultant to more than 30 organizations and a visiting scholar in Japan, China, Australia, Italy, Poland, Ireland and Taiwan.

Memorial donations can be designated for the Stephen J. Carroll, Jr. Scholarship Fund at the University System of Maryland Foundation, 3300 Metzerott Road, Adelphi, MD 20783.