David C. Schmittlein
1955-2025
David C. Schmittlein earned his BA in Mathematics from Brown University and his doctoral degree from Columbia University. He served as a distinguished professor, department chair and Deputy Dean at Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) from 1980 to 2007. From 2007 to 2024, Dave served as the John C Head III Dean of MIT Sloan School.
David Schmittlein was a quiet and distinguished man whose impact on scholarship and institution building was monumental. He was a marvelous mentor to doctoral students and fellow scholars. His imagination and energy in scholarship and institution-building were endless.
Dave’s contributions to stochastic modeling (in marketing) were foundational. Along with Frank Bass, Don Morrison and Andrew Ehrenberg, Dave provided the architecture for stochastic modeling in marketing
Dave’s scholarship began thus. Dave arrived at Columbia University, curious and a bit precocious, for his MBA degree after BA in Mathematics from Brown University.
Listen to Donald R. Lehmann, George E. Warren Professor of Business Emeritus at Columbia University, and a very distinguished scholar and Donald Morrison, Professor Emeritus at University of California at Los Angeles, Dave Schmittlein’s doctoral advisor and a founder of marketing science on how it unfolded.
Don Lehmann’s vivid recollection after almost 40 years: “I was teaching multivariate statistics. Dave was very quiet, so I asked him which PhD program he was in. He said he was a first term MBA student. I asked him if he was sure he wanted to take the course. He responded that if it was ok with me, he would like to try for a few more classes. Since there was no real cost to me, I “magnanimously" said OK. The next class he caught two errors in my proofs/presentation that none of the doctoral students noticed and noted them in his usual understated manner ("isn't that no quite right"). That was when I suggested he and Don (Morrison) should talk.”
Don Morrison has this recollection, equally vivid and poignant: “Don Lehmann knew that Dave being in the Columbia MBA Program was a mismatch. Don sent Dave to me. I had Dave switch to the PhD program. As a first year PhD student, Dave improved EVERY idea I had for a journal article. I would jot down an idea, put it on an 8.5” x 11” sheet of paper. By that afternoon or the next morning Dave would some see me. “Don, that is a good idea, but…if you do this, this and that it generalizes.” Even with spending his first semester in the MBA Program, in 33 months Dave had his PhD and FIVE articles either in print or accepted in A-level journals. Dave went to Wharton for a distinguished career as a scholar and administrator.”
From 1980 when Dave joined Wharton as a faculty till about 2000 when Dave became the Deputy Dean at the school, Dave was prolific and innovative in his conceptualization and execution of questions relevant to scholars and practitioners. During these years, he was a mentor to many fellow scholars and doctoral students. From 2000, Dave devoted his energies and passion to building two institutions: Wharton and MIT Sloan. He did this for 24 years.
There is no one in the community who invested so deeply in scholarship and teaching for two decades and then another two decades to institution-building with such impact and legacy.
Scholarship. Mentorship. Institution-building.
First, scholarship. John Hauser, the Kirin Professor at MIT Sloan School of Management and an exemplary scholar, assesses Dave’s scholarship thus. “His research was outstanding using a deep understanding of probabilistic models to understand consumer behavior and its implications.” Listen to Diane Schmalensee, who was the research director at the think-tank, Marketing Science Institute, for several years. “I was always looking for marketing academics who were working on new and important topics so that Marketing Science Institute could support their work with grants from the large companies that sponsored MSI. Dave was one of the standout scholars who caught our attention, and it was a pleasure to see how Dave’s mind worked and to get to know him personally.” Gurumurthy Kalyanaram (GK), an MIT doctoral alumnus and fellow academic, has this observation, “Dave was prolific. He was innovative and eclectic. His breadth was amazing: generalization of Negative Binomial Distribution (NBD); hazard rate models and their applications; effect of measuring intent on consumer behavior; estimation methods for diffusion models; the marketing of in vitro fertilization procedures. He brought rigor to all his inquiry.”
Mentorship. Listen to two of his fellow-scholars. Barbara Khan, Patty and Jay H. Baker Professor at Wharton and fellow doctoral scholar of Dave, has this to say, “Dave was my academic big brother, we were both “Morrison students.” Of course, he was the GOAT, and I was the “first girl.” But as an academic big brother, you couldn’t ask for more support and guidance than Dave gave me. Like Morrison, my academic father, Dave was a “full service” advisor. He helped me with my dissertation research, facing the scary dissertation tribunal and the job market. When I finally got to Wharton, I witnessed his full multi-dimensionality. He wasn’t only an intellectual giant (one of the smartest people I have ever met), but he was also savvy and sophisticated. He was a great marketer, too. I wrote two papers with Dave, both his ideas, of course. We wrote simple papers that characterized shopping behavior, types of consumers, and responsiveness to promotions. Not earth-shattering, but surprisingly managerially useful.”
And listen to Eric Bradlow, The K.P. Chao Professor of Marketing and Professor of Economics, Education, Statistics and Data Science at Wharton: “There are people that impact your career, there are people that impact your life, and then (for me) there is Dave. How many people would have been a department chair and strongly advocated for hiring someone in April (7 months after the market had closed), a person who was in industry (in a statistics research group) not in academia, did not have a PhD in Marketing and did not know any of the faculty or journals, and needed an answer in two days because of other job offers? When I was just starting out and needed Marketing publications, Dave worked with me on one of his last articles, one on the quality of internet search engines. One of my most vivid memories was when, in the paper, we predicted 9.1% of websites were “unseen” (albeit we did this using a statistical model) and then 2 months later a bunch of computer scientists from Princeton published an article referring to our paper where they “counted” and came up with the same estimate. We literally hugged each other.”
Russell Winer, William Joyce Professor Emeritus at New York University, recalls learning moments from and with Dave. “Dave was a doctoral student when I was a young assistant professor at Columbia. He spent more time on the fourth floor of Uris Hall where Don Morrison's office was than on the fifth floor where the marketing group lived but I still interacted with him a lot. For some reason I cannot recall, Dave took a 1-1 seminar with me (I guess he needed the credits) like an Oxbridge tutorial. While I cannot remember the content of the seminar, I always told him that I learned more from him than he learned from me.”
Don Morrison has this to say. “Yes, I was a pretty good advisor/mentor to Dave, but I received so much more from Dave than I gave to him.”
What about doctoral students? Listen to two of them. Vicki Morwitz and Kristiaan Helsen.
Vicki Morwitz, Bruce Greenwald Professor of Business at Columbia University: “I recall that in research presentations Dave had a remarkable ability to ask questions that were both gentle and incisive. A single, unassuming question from Dave often went right to the heart of a presentation, revealing something fundamental—usually in the kindest possible way. As an advisor, Dave was both encouraging and generous with his time, yet he gave me the freedom to pursue what truly interested me. From the early days as a student to navigating the many stages of academic life, Dave was, there, quietly and steadfastly offering his perspective and guidance. I once told him he was my advisor for life, and I meant it. He helped shape not only my career, but how I try to mentor others—with humility, generosity, and care.”
Kristiaan Helsen, Associate Professor of Business Education at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology: “One of my first doctoral seminars at Wharton was run by David one cold winter day in January. The seminar was very different from all of the other seminars I took – a discussion on Thomas Kuhn’s Structure of Scientific Revolutions. This was a long time ago but it still reminds me of how Dave was more than just a researcher – a true scholar. Later I was very blessed to have Dave as my doctoral advisor. The thesis under his supervision ultimately led to 5 articles co-authored with Dave – including my first Marketing Science publication.”
What defined Dave as a scholar is his humility. In composing the In-Memoriam profile of Andrew Ehrenbrg, GK reached out to Dave (at least twice) for his reflections. Don Morrison was insistent that Dave was the right person to speak to Andrew’s contributions. Dave begged off. Dave simply said. “I have been away from Andrew’s work for so long that it is not fair for me to describe that body of work.” The request was made in 2022 or thereof, and Dave – of course – had been in administration for the last 22 years then.
Institution-building. Dave devoted almost all his energies to institution building from about 2000 for about 7 years at Wharton and then for 17 years at MIT’s Sloan School. Dave’s imprint on MIT Sloan is deep and enduring. The testimony to this is long. No better person to introduce us to Dave’s arrival at MIT Sloan than Richard Schmalenssee, then retiring Dean and one of the most celebrated scholars in industrial organizations economics: “When he (Dave) emerged as a leading candidate, I began talking with him about Sloan. (I must have had the committee’s permission…) I remember vividly one weekend conversation when we were staying with friends in Stockbridge who had terrible cell service. To reach Dave, I had to park at the top of a hill in cemetery. In that long conversation and others, Dave asked penetrating questions in his gentle way, and I became persuaded that he would be exactly the sort of service leader that Sloan needed, and I went into sales mode. (Dave later told me that I had nonetheless not exaggerated MIT’s or Sloan’s merits.) Over the years of Dave’s deanship, we had many candid dean-to-dean conversations and even more email exchanges.”
Dave led MIT Sloan for 17 years across 3 Presidents and at least 3 Provosts.
This is how President Emerita Susan Hockfield (who hired Dave as the then President of MIT in 2007) recollects Dave’s agility in building and fostering global partnerships – particularly in Latin America and Asia, “For any leader today — being able to foster international relationships has to be a critical part of anyone’s toolkit. And for MIT Sloan students to see that up close and personal, they can understand how they can make that happen as business leaders.” During Dave’s tenure, the MIT Sloan Latin America Office opened in Santiago, Chile, in 2013, and the Asia School of Business was launched in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2015. Dave also helped to lay the groundwork for the launch of the MIT Sloan Office for Southeast Asian Nations, which opened in October 2024 in Bangkok.
President Sally Kornbluth arrived at MIT in January 2023. Dave and she overlapped for one year – a year that was very busy for President Kornbluth. But in that one year, President Kornbluth had developed great appreciation and respect for Dave’s counsel and insights – always offered in gentle and unassuming manner. “Since he arrived in 2007, Dave served on MIT’s Academic Council, offering his insight and guidance to three successive MIT presidents, including me. He was rarely the first to speak, but his incisive comments would help people see things in new ways and bring great clarity to any discussion. Though Dave and I overlapped only for his final year as dean, his wise, funny, judicious counsel left a lasting impression. From my earliest days here, he was incredibly welcoming, writing to me unprompted with astute observations and encouragement, pointing out when things were going well and offering his generous, gentle advice.”
Dave was a leader who led with compassion and vision. A leader who was a careful listener, one who trusted his colleagues and who inspired trust reciprocally.
Listen to Provost Emerita Cynthia Barnhart (one of the three or provosts who benefitted from Dave’s counsel), Dean Emeritus Glen Urban and three faculty members (Georgia Perakis, Michael Cusumano and Jo-Anne Yates) who served as Associate/Deputy Deans to Dave.
Cynthia Barnhartt, who was Provost during Dave’s Deanship: “For nearly 17 years, the MIT community relied on and benefited from Dave Schmittlein’s inspiring vision, skillful leadership, and kind and collaborative nature. He worked tirelessly to advance MIT Sloan’s mission of developing principled, innovative leaders, all while strengthening the school’s ties to the rest of campus and building partnerships across the country and globe.”
Glen Urban, who was the Dean of MIT Sloan from 1993 to 1998, and a very impactful scholar: “Dave was sympathetic and caring and always listened to all input. He shared the credit for school successes and accepted the responsibility for any failures.”
Georgia Perakis who was Associate Dean to Dave and then served as the Interim Dean for almost 18 months has this to say: “Not only was he an incredible leader for MIT Sloan, but he was also a mentor, a teacher, and a friend who brought the school to new heights during his 17-year tenure. Many members of our community were lucky to benefit from his guidance and friendship, and I am among that group. When I became interim dean, Dave was a tremendous partner to me, offering counsel and support. I will miss him very much. Dave also loved MIT Sloan’s alumni community. He travelled around the world many times to meet so many of them.”
Michael Cusumano, the SMR distinguished professor at MIT Sloan: “For the most part, Dave let his deputy deans and the faculty run the internal affairs of the school, and he always encouraged us to explore new ideas and programs as well as to seek the right balance between administrative efficiency and kindness. At the same time, he kept remarkably well-informed about internal matters (as well as external relations and student matters). He remembered and processed EVERYTHING he heard, read, or witnessed. While I was deputy dean, we also occasionally had some memorable philosophical discussions about the need to step back a bit from the job to see the big picture and not get too sidetracked with relatively small administrative details or personnel matters. The details mattered a lot, to many people, but we had to get the big picture right, too.”
Sloan Distinguished Professor Emerita, JoAnne Yates: “I was only 6 months into my time in the Dean’s Office when he arrived, and I still wasn’t sure of my own role. I remember being impressed by his rapid learning about and embrace of Sloan’s differences from other business schools during these years—including its mission-driven culture, its high commitment to action learning, and its portfolio of degree programs. At the same time, he also mentored me and helped me better understand my own role. I had thought my role was to enact the policies of the Dean. I remember feeling surprised and honored when he told me that in matters within my portfolio, I had a 51% voice.”
Dave’s contributions to institution building at Wharton is summarized succinctly by Barbara Khan, “I think the initiatives that Pat Harker (as Dean) and Dave (as Deputy Dean) championed and the campaigns they ran were some of the best I have ever seen in academic administration.”
Dave is remembered by everyone with affection and fondness. A man who gave us all so much in so many ways.
The most poignant testimony about the man that Dave was, comes from his dear friend and fellow academic. A friend for 43 years, best men at each other’s weddings. Listen to Professor Emeritus New York University Joel Steckel’s reflections: “We traveled to different parts of the world together. We kept each other’s secrets. We spent countless hours on the phone together. He was the brother I never had. We loved each other. In the early days we often referred to each other as Felix and Oscar. Those of us who knew us both will have no problem guessing which was which. I probably spent more time with Dave over the last year of his life than anyone outside of his nuclear family. We returned to our early years where we would have several long conversations each week. I visited him often at his Boston home where we would spend the first 15 minutes discussing his condition and then talking about everything and everyone else for the rest of the time. One afternoon we were sitting on the screened porch of his Boston home, I asked Dave if he missed being Dean. To my surprise, he said “Yes”. What did he miss about it? The satisfaction of helping people. He loved to help people. He told me several stories about the people he had helped in his 44 years at Penn and MIT, anonymous of course. Each story brought a smile to his face. That’s who Dave Schmittlein was. He improved the life of each person whose life he entered. I guess I wasn’t as special as I thought I was. Dave certainly improved my life, but he did so for many others.”
Don Morrison: “I will miss Dave every day. However, this sadness is overcome by the blessings I received from having Dave as a part of my family.”
Everyone has spoken to David’s sense of humor and wit, very supportive disposition and his humility. President Sally Kornbluth: “Since Dave stepped down as dean last year to attend to his health, all of us who worked with him have missed his quiet, witty, discerning perspective, unfailing good company and kindness.” Dick Schmalensee: “Dave was always frank and thoughtful, and his basic kindness and gentle humor were unavoidable. I came to value our relationship enormously, and I hope I provided him at least a unique audience.”
Russ Winer: “Extremely smart but humble.”
This exchange between GK and Dave in November 2024 when Dave was tending to his health exemplifies all these attributes. Dave in his own words.
On his remarkable success as leader at MIT Sloan, Dave shared his thoughts in the email exchange as thus: “As to my time as dean, I have felt fortunate to receive many kind thoughts from folks (faculty, staff and alums) looking back at the school’s trajectory over the last 15 years. Again, I was fortunate to come along at a time when both faculty and alums were eager for change or at least felt that change was needed. I give myself credit mostly for encouraging those faculty and staff leaders who were ready to drive change. At least, I got out of their way! And I worked hard to tell the great and enduring truths of MIT in a way that both outsiders and insiders could see as real, valuable, and inspiring.”
Always supportive: “You continue your deep and productive relationship with MIT, and for that many, including me, are grateful.”
And this pitch-perfect sense of wit: “Regarding giving voice to those truths, I recall speaking to an alumni group early in my deanship. Afterward, an alum approached to give me what he described as feedback on my speech: “Dean Schmittlein, you’re no Lester Thurow, but still, that was pretty good.” :-)”
[Lester Thurow was a celebrated economist who led MIT Sloan School as its Dean from 1987 to 1993. He was known for his gift of words – in speech and writing.]
Dave was most of all a man who loved his family. The family were central to his life. President Sally Kornbluth: “Dave was absolutely devoted to his family, and our hearts go out to them as they absorb this loss: His wife of more than 32 years, Barbara Bickart, herself an academic leader in the field of marketing, their grown children, Brigitte and Gabe, and the whole Schmittlein family.”
Gurumurthy Kalyanaram
November 2025