J. Ben Arbaugh, strategy and project management professor in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh College of Business, died Saturday, June 16, surrounded by his wife, three sons and two puppies.
On his CaringBridge page, his wife Paula Arbaugh wrote:
“Ben didn’t ‘lose his battle with cancer,’ he ran a good race and he finished well, very well! In fact, there was little lost in this journey and much gained. Ben was able to receive well deserved recognition for his teaching, research and scholarship, he was able to spend sweet time with his parents and siblings which may not have happened otherwise, he was able to hear from friends and colleagues how much he meant to them…”
Arbaugh began his career in academia at UW Oshkosh in 1994. Prior, he was an officer in the U.S. Air Force and served as a project manager in weapon system acquisitions logistics.
“Ben’s absence will be keenly felt by his colleagues in Management and Human Resources as well as the many coauthors and board members with whom he worked across the globe with a singular focus on improving management education through sound pedagogical research. He was indeed a true scholar, mentor, teacher, colleague and friend,” College of Business Dean Barbara Rau said in an email to campus.
A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, June 23, at Community Church, 2351 Ryf Road, Oshkosh. Visitation will be from 9 until 11 a.m. and the service will start at 11 a.m.
- Arbaugh’s published obituary. (To be updated as information becomes available.)
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Arbaugh served as editor of Academy of Management Learning and Education, associate editor for Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. He was a member of the editorial boards of numerous academic journals, including the Academy of Management Learning and Education and the Journal of Management Education. He was a past chair of the Management Education and Development Division of the Academy of Management. Arbaugh’s online teaching and learning research won numerous best article and best conference paper awards from the Academy of Management Learning and Education Journal, Journal of Management Education, Organization Management Journal and the Decision Sciences Journal of Innovative Education. He received lasting impact awards for his research in Business and Technical Communication Quarterly and the Journal of Management Education. His other research interests were in graduate management education and the use of bibliometrics in business and management education research.
Arbaugh’s teaching activities focused on graduate-level courses in project management, professional development and strategic management—in classroom, blended, and fully online teaching and learning environments. He was widely respected and beloved by students who worked with him to create their professional development plans, which changed student careers and lives for the better. Beyond UW Oshkosh, Arbaugh provided his expertise in online teaching and learning for a number of activities within and outside the UW System.
In 2008, Arbaugh won the UW Oshkosh College of Business Outstanding Graduate Faculty Award; in 2009, he was the GMAC Management Education Research Institute Faculty Research Fellow; in 2011, he was named as a UW Oshkosh Rosebush Professor; and in 2013 he received the UW Oshkosh Edward Penson Distinguished Teaching Award. In 2012 and 2017, Arbaugh earned the Outstanding Faculty Award from the UW MBA Consortium, making him the first to achieve the award twice.
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