Leonard Berry receives 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship

Marketing Professor Leonard Berry has been selected for the 2015 Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship – the highest award given to a faculty member at Mays Business School. The selection process consisted of faculty nominations, reviews and recommendations by the Mays Research Council, the Mays Executive Committee and a final decision by Interim Dean Ricky Griffin.

The Mays Executive Committee instituted the award in 2014 to recognize “sustained and outstanding scholarly contributions by Mays faculty who are considered pioneers in their field.” It is awarded only when one or more nominees possess credentials that meet the highest standards of achievement in innovation and achievement in scholarship.

“By helping found the research domains of services marketing and service quality, by pioneering scholarly inquiry into the now-foundational concept of relationship marketing, and by making important contributions to the study of healthcare service, Dr. Berry has demonstrated his rich scholarly credentials for the honor of the Mays Business School Lifetime Achievement Award for Research and Scholarship,” Berry’s colleagues, fellow Mays marketing Professors P. Rajan Varadarajan, Venkatesh Shankar and Mark B. Houston, wrote in their faculty recommendation.

Currently, Berry holds the titles of University Distinguished Professor, Distinguished Professor of Marketing, Regents Professor and a Presidential Professor for Teaching Excellence. He is also the original holder of the M.B. Zale Chair in Retailing and Marketing Leadership and Founding Director of the Center for Retailing Studies at Texas A&M University. Additionally, he is a Senior Fellow with the Institute of Healthcare Improvement, Cambridge, Mass.

He has been the author of more than 185 articles and book chapters. His books have been, “commercially successful and consistently praised,” over his 45-year career. They have also been translated into multiple languages.

“Readers of his articles and books remark about how they are inspired by his discussions of the need for humane organizational values, social profit, generosity and volunteerism,” his colleagues said.

His contributions were honored at Mays on April 24, with a breakfast reception followed by a presentation of his accomplishments and further remarks. Those who know him assert that, despite earning the Lifetime Achievement Award, Berry’s work is far from finished.

“Len Berry is a visionary scholar whose research in marketing, services marketing, service quality, relationship marketing, and healthcare service continues to positively impact scholarly research, business education and practice, as well as the quality of life of many,” said Houston, the marketing department head.