Charles T. Fisher Chair of Business Ethics and Professor of Management
2023
Bio:
Prolific author and authority on business ethics, Fr. Gerald Cavanagh (affectionately known as Jerry) has hundreds of books, journal articles, and presentations to his credit. His book American Business Values had six editions published by Prentice-Hall; other book publications include Ethical Dilemmas in the Modern Corporation (Prentice-Hall, 1988) co-authored with Fr. Arthur F. McGovern, S.J.; American Business Value in Transition (Prentice-Hall, 1976); The Businessperson in Search of Values (Benziger, Bruce & Glencoe, 1976); and Blacks in the Industrial World: Issues for the Manager co-authored with Theodore V. Purcell (NY: Free Press, 1972).
Too numerous to list individually, Professor Cavanagh’s journal articles covered topics of service-learning, character and practical wisdom in selecting business leaders, research and teaching social issues, social entrepreneurship, benchmarks of Jesuit business education, ethical issues in bankruptcy, spirituality for managers, using principles of Catholic social teaching in evaluating business activities, moral maturity in business, religion and spirituality in business, teaching business ethics, importance of ethics to job performance, ethics of power and politics, organization statesmanship and dirty politics, and making minority policies effective.
Professor Cavanagh was in demand to deliver papers and give lectures locally, nationally, and internationally. For example, globally, he delivered papers in Germany on “Corporate Responsibility in the U.S. and the Global Marketplace;” “Managing Workplace Spirituality: Cultivating the Call to Holiness in Corporate Culture” in Spain; “Global Codes of Business Conduct” in Australia; “Workshop on Business Ethics” in Mexico City; and “International Codes of Business Conduct” in Indonesia. Locally, Fr. Cavanaugh spoke about global business ethics, workplace spirituality, and business values for Detroit Business Executives, Michigan Sierra Club of Michigan, 2003 Cardinal Club, UDM alumni, and at Ford World Headquarters. Nationally, Fr. Cavanagh delivered papers at colleges and/or universities in over twenty different states including universities such as Harvard, Case Western, Notre Dame, Universities of San Francisco, St. Joseph’s, Santa Clara, Loyola New Orleans, Loyola-Baltimore, Regis, Gonzaga, Loyola Marymount, Dallas, Creighton, St. Louis, Fairfield, John Carroll, and Boston College.
In Business Ethics and Social Responsibility: Essential Works of Fr. Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J., introduction written by Dr. Joseph G. Eisenhauer, Dean, College of Business Administration and Dr. Lawrence Zeff, Professor of Management, both at University of Detroit Mercy, they wrote “Throughout his career as a professor, Fr. Cavanagh not only taught business ethics, he also championed service-learning among both undergraduate and graduate students. He insisted that students should engage with the less fortunate, provide services of real benefit to them, and write reflection papers on their experiences, as a way to gain the moral maturity needed to become true servant-leaders.” Later in the introduction they wrote about Professor Cavanagh’s works covering the topics of ethical norms and organizational values, corporate responsibility, moral maturity, and global influence. It was not possible to cover all of Fr. Cavanagh’s works in the introduction so they wrote “The entries included here were selected to illustrate the development of his thinking on five major themes: spirituality in the workplace; diversity, equity and inclusion; ethical norms in organizations; the social responsibility of business; and the pedagogy of business ethics.”
In the November 10, 2023 campus announcement of his passing it was written “During his illustrious career, which spanned more than 50 years, he delivered nearly 100 presentations to audiences around the globe and published five books, more than a dozen separate chapters, some 30 peer-reviewed journal articles, and numerous encyclopedia entries, books reviews and essays. His research has also been cited more than 3,100 times by other scholars throughout the world. His classic textbook, American Business Values, is required reading at business schools around the nation today and was included in Harvard’s list of essential business reading. In total, more than 1,500 libraries around the world carry his books.”
Fr. Cavanagh earned degrees including a B.S. in Engineering (1953) from Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University; a Master of Business Administration and Master of Education (1958-59) from St. Louis University; S.T.L. (Licentiate in Theology) (1962-65) from Loyola University in Chicago Illinois; and a Doctor of Business Administration (D.B.A. 1970) from Michigan State University Lansing Michigan. His doctoral research, which was done at the Research Institute in Cambridge MA (1968-70), focused on the creative ideas that the electrical industry was coming up with in the area of equal employment for minorities and was titled Black and White Workers Views in Three Industrial Plants: View from the Grassroots.
While pursuing his undergraduate, graduate, and Licentiate degrees he held positions of Staff Assistant to Production Engineer, Cleveland Pneumatic Tool Co. and Instructor in Mathematics and Physics, Loyola Academy in Chicago. While working toward his doctorate he served as a Research Fellow, Cambridge Center for Social Studies, Cambridge MA.
Upon earning his doctorate, Professor Cavanagh joined Wayne State University (Detroit Michigan) School of Business Administration serving as an Assistant Professor (1970-72), Associate Professor (1973-79), and Chair, Department of Management (1976-79). In 1980 Fr. Cavanagh joined University of Detroit, College of Business Administration, as a Professor of Management. In 1995 he was honored to be named the Charles T. Fisher III Chair of Business Ethics and Professor of Management.
Professor Cavanagh generously shared his time and expertise across the country when he served on the Governance Committee, Program Chair, Chair of the Social Issues Division, and Chair of the All-Academy Task Force on Ethics for the National Academy of Management. He was a distinguished lecturer in the Graduate School of Business Administration, Michigan State University; at different times he served on the Board of Trustees of Fordham University (New York City), Xavier University (Cincinnati Ohio), Santa Clara University (California), Holy Cross College, (Worcester MA) and Loyola University (New Orleans).
As a university professor, Fr. Cavanagh held the Dirksen Chair of Business Ethics, Santa Clara University, California (1979-80); Gasson Chair, School of Management, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts (1986-87); Aram Professor of Business Ethics, Gonzaga University, Spokane, WA (1995); and Weigand Scholar, University of San Francisco, CA (1999). He received a Doctor of Humane Letters from Siena Heights College, Adrian Michigan in 1998; Sumner Marcus Award, Academy of Management, San Francisco in 1990; and Doctor of Humane Letters from Loyola-Baltimore in 1989. Fr. Cavanagh received Detroit Mercy’s first Distinguished Faculty Award in 1998 and in 2019 was honored by the UDM College of Business Administration with a Lifetime Achievement Award and was inducted into its Hall of Fame.
Whether faculty member or university administrator, Fr. Cavanagh distinguished himself. While at University of Detroit/University of Detroit Mercy, he was the Chairperson, University Planning Committee, Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration, Director of Graduate Programs, and Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost. While serving as Vice President he helped lead the university and its departments through the consolidation process when University of Detroit and Mercy College of Detroit formed University of Detroit Mercy. He was a member of the UDM Mission Effectiveness Committee, Catholic Studies Advisory Committee, and the Faculty Development Committee of the College of Business Administration.
Students were influenced by Fr. Cavanagh both in the classroom and outside the classroom. He was much loved and admired by all. He served as the faculty advisor for Alpha Phi Omega; annually he took a group of students on a weeklong backpacking retreat to a national park; and, with Professor Mary Lou Caspers he sought out emerging leaders and helped build up a cohort of student leaders.
Over the years, Fr. Cavanagh continually gave back to his profession when he led management briefing for 250 managers at Blue Cross Blue Shield; was a member of a five person City of Detroit Board of Ethics; served on the Editorial Review board for Business Ethics Quarterly; refereed papers for the National Academy of Management, Social Issues Division; was Chair of the All-Academy of Management Task Force on Ethics in Business Education; was a member of the Editorial Review Board, Academy of Management Review; and, was on the Professional Division Review Committee, National Academy of Management.,
Memberships held by Fr. Cavanagh include Academy of Management, Society for Business Ethics, and International Association for Business and Society. He held honorary membership in Theta Tau, Blue Key, Alpha Phi Omega, Beta Gamma Sigma, Tau Kappa Alpha, and Alpha Sigma Nu.
Fr. Cavanagh is listed in Outstanding Educators in America, Who’s Who in America, Contemporary Authors, World Who’ Who of Authors, Dictionary of International Biography, Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in the Midwest, and Who’s Who in Finance and Business.
Fr. Cavanagh’s professorial nomination for Professor Emeritus was approved and conferred posthumously by Dr. Donald B. Taylor, President of University of Detroit Mercy on May 15, 2023. When Fr. Cavanagh passed into internal life on November 8, 2022 the university lost one of its most beloved Jesuits.
Citation:
University of Detroit Mercy is honored to confer the title of Professor Emeritus posthumously upon Gerald F. Cavanagh, S.J. on this day, Monday, May 15, 2023 signed by President Donald B. Taylor, PhD. And Pamela Zarkowski, J.D., M.P.H., Provost and V.P. for Academic Affairs