Progress Magazine Annual Report 2011 - Eller College of ...
Progress Magazine Annual Report 2011 - Eller College of ...
Progress Magazine Annual Report 2011 - Eller College of ...
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looking<br />
back<br />
Len Jessup in his <strong>of</strong>fice in the Harvill building in his doctoral<br />
days. Jessup remembers his Kaypro 2000 “portable computer”<br />
fondly. “I thought it was the coolest thing that I could travel<br />
on a plane with my computer,” he said. “When I was visiting<br />
my parents, I could plug the telephone line into it and look at<br />
data. At that time, they had no idea what it was all about.”<br />
Len Jessup Photo<br />
During his doctoral days<br />
at <strong>Eller</strong>, Len Jessup<br />
worked closely with Terry<br />
Connolly, <strong>Eller</strong> Pr<strong>of</strong>essor<br />
<strong>of</strong> Management and<br />
Organizations. Connolly<br />
said the two stayed in<br />
touch after Jessup<br />
graduated. “Given our<br />
shared research interests,<br />
we'd find ourselves at the<br />
same meetings, or visiting<br />
each other's campus or<br />
working on research<br />
together,” he said. “It's<br />
been a while since we<br />
wrote anything together<br />
but it’s always a delight<br />
to see one's old students<br />
moving on into<br />
distinguished careers.”<br />
When Jessup was<br />
admitted to the doctoral<br />
program in management<br />
– and continuing to this<br />
day – the program was<br />
small with a great<br />
reputation, with wellqualified<br />
and ambitious<br />
students. “What made Len<br />
stand out for me among<br />
this elite group was his<br />
enormous energy and<br />
enthusiasm,” Connolly<br />
said. “He just never wore<br />
out. We'd wrap up a long<br />
session <strong>of</strong> work planning<br />
the next steps in a<br />
research project and he'd<br />
be ready for a flat-out<br />
hour on the racketball<br />
court–we played a lot,<br />
and I have to say he was<br />
tactful enough not to<br />
beat me too <strong>of</strong>ten–I was<br />
his advisor, after all!” But<br />
then, he added, “Early the<br />
following morning, Len<br />
would be in my <strong>of</strong>fice<br />
with the work halffinished<br />
already and<br />
eager to move on to the<br />
next step.”<br />
In 2004, the Department<br />
<strong>of</strong> Management presented<br />
Jessup with its<br />
distinguished Ph.D.<br />
alumnus award. “That<br />
was a special pleasure for<br />
me – a bit like the parents'<br />
delight when the kids<br />
grow up and achieve<br />
great things,” Connolly<br />
said. “When he came<br />
down for the WSU-Arizona<br />
football game a couple <strong>of</strong><br />
years ago, we got to talking<br />
about where his next career<br />
move might be, I wasn't<br />
surprised that he still felt<br />
all sorts <strong>of</strong> affection for<br />
Tucson and <strong>Eller</strong> <strong>College</strong><br />
and that his background,<br />
both as a teacher and<br />
researcher and as an<br />
administrator, would<br />
make him a near-perfect<br />
fit for us.”<br />
Added Connolly, “I've been<br />
fortunate to work with<br />
some pretty gifted,<br />
productive people over<br />
the years, but I've never<br />
met Len's match for the<br />
level <strong>of</strong> enthusiasm and<br />
energy he brings to every<br />
project. I can see from the<br />
way he's plunged into his<br />
first few months <strong>of</strong><br />
working as our dean that<br />
this hasn't changed a bit.<br />
He has a wonderful gift<br />
for energizing not just<br />
himself but the people<br />
around him.”<br />
eller progress n fall <strong>2011</strong> 23