Emeritus faculty member Janet Lawrence passed away on Aug. 26, 2025 in Hanover, New Hampshire at the age of 80.
Professor Janet H. Lawrence received her B.S. from Tufts University in 1966, her M.S. from Smith College in 1969, and her Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in 1972. She joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1975 as an assistant research scientist in the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.
In 1975 she was also appointed as an assistant professor in the School of Education, where she was promoted to associate professor in 1978 and to professor in 2013. She also served as a faculty associate in the Weiser Center for Europe and Eurasia and the Center for Russian and Eastern European Studies. She retired from active faculty status in May of 2017.
Professor Lawrence was also a leader in the School of Education, serving as associate dean from 1990-1995 and as director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education from 1996-2000. She also coordinated the Executive Education Program on Higher Education Leadership from 2000-2012 in Tianjin and Liaoning, China. In recognition of her skills as a teacher and her role in establishing an international partnership, she was named as an Honorary Professor by Tianjin Normal University, in Tianjin, China.
Professor Lawrence’s research centered on postsecondary faculty, teaching, and learning. Her early research drew on “life course perspectives” to examine (differences in) aging, cohort, and period influences on faculty performance. In a related line of work, she studied how faculty members’ interactions with key environments shaped their views of the workplace, themselves as professors, and their behavior.
A significant contribution to the education field is Professor Lawrence’s co-authored book with Robert Blackburn, “Faculty at Work: Motivation, Expectation, Satisfaction,” published in 1995 by Johns Hopkins University Press. This book contributed an important framework for understanding what motivates faculty in different disciplines and institutional settings in their teaching, research, and service. This substantial volume was a major accomplishment in explaining socialization, development, and productivity in faculty careers, and providing actionable ideas for higher education institutions to use in supporting faculty work.
During the later part of her career, she focused on service or “citizenship behavior” as it relates to organizational commitment, on faculty perceptions of collective influence in institutional decision making within the context of intercollegiate sports, and on apprehensions about the fairness of the tenure process by pre-tenure faculty.
As her career progressed, with her deep knowledge of faculty work and productivity, she expanded her focus to the international setting. Her scholarly projects, typically integrating attention to teaching, research, and service, involved an array of countries, including Kyrgyzstan, Brazil, China, and Russia. Topics included higher education leadership, democratization, and intercultural learning.
Former student, Ann Austin, University Distinguished Professor of Higher, Adult, and Lifelong Education at Michigan State University, says of Professor Lawrence’s scholarship:
“What stands out about Jan’s scholarly work is that it has made a difference. Her work on faculty provided integrated, evidence-based foundational theory and knowledge on which many other researchers have built. Her international scholarship has provided insights of use to higher education leaders in a number of countries. And always her research has been inseparable from her commitment to teach and guide innumerable students whom she has included as respected and valued collaborators, colleagues, and friends.”
In addition to her scholarly contributions, Professor Lawrence excelled as a teacher and mentor. She was a dedicated advisor who attended skillfully to the social, emotional, and intellectual growth of her many students. She provided students with valuable opportunities to work on research projects and to participate as co-authors on publications and conference presentations. The placement of her graduates in well-respected positions is a testament to her long-standing commitment to her students’ academic and professional development.
Lisa Lattuca, Director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education, contributes:
“Perhaps because as a scholar Jan thought deeply about what motivates people over the course of a lifetime, she was genuinely interested in our graduate students and deeply invested in their success. Her door was always open, and all kinds of conversations and intellectual connections were made in her courses, her office, and in her home. No one who sought Jan’s counsel, as a colleague or a student, left unattended or uncared for – and it’s the reason her loss is felt so viscerally by so many of us associated with the Center.”
Former student, Tatiana Suspitsyna, Associate Professor of Higher Education and Student Affairs at The Ohio State University, says:
“An exemplary teacher, mentor, and a role model, Jan has made a lasting impact on her students. Stoic in character and generous of heart, she possesses a rare combination of sterling scholarly rigor and genuine compassion, a consummate academic and a wonderful human being. Her legacy is strong: there are so many of us making careers in higher education who were taught, guided, and advised by Jan on how to become experts in our fields and cultivate the ethics of care in our work!”
Additionally, Professor Lawrence served as a mentor to early career scholars in the school and beyond. Elizabeth Birr Moje, Dean of the Marsal Family School of Education, shares:
“Jan was an important person in my development as a member of the Marsal community. Her wisdom, sense of humor, and deep intelligence; her ability to combine warmth and laughter with thoughtful leadership; and her willingness to collaborate across programs taught me how to be a strong community member. I owe a great deal to Jan for shaping me as a scholar, a colleague, and a person.”
Professor Lawrence dedicated her professional life to the benefit of the university, its students, and the education profession. She was elected to the Board of Directors of the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) and vice-presidency of Division J (Postsecondary) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). She also led training opportunities for administrators at international institutions of higher education and carried out service-oriented research with constituencies such as the Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics and the Huron Valley Women’s Correctional Facility’s Vocational Program.
Professor Lawrence served the school and university through extensive service leadership including as a member of the school’s Executive Committee, chair of the Promotion and Tenure Committee, member of numerous faculty search committees, and member of numerous other review, award, and planning committees. She also coordinated many international efforts as well as served in several roles supporting international education in the school and the university, including special advisor to the dean on international activities, member of the Fulbright Campus Interview Committee, and member of the Provost’s International Council 2007-2010.
Melinda Richardson, Managing Director of the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education says,
“Jan leaves a legacy of meaningful learning opportunities both in the classroom and beyond. What began as involving a small number of doctoral students in her international research projects grew into full-scale experiential study programs open to the broader community. Through these programs, students learned first-hand what higher education looks like in other corners of the world. More importantly, programs became first-hand exposure for what it looks like to treat others with respect, good humor, and compassion.”
As Jan often said, “There is the family that you are born with and the family that you make.” Jan made the Marsal community part of her family. We are all fortunate to have had Jan as our colleague, teacher, and friend in the School of Education. Please keep her husband Paul, son James, and all her loved ones in your thoughts as we remember Professor Lawrence. As per Jan’s and Paul’s preference, colleagues and friends may remember her by making donations in her honor to Marsal’s Professor Janet H. Lawrence Endowed Fund for Global Engagement or the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education Annual Fund.
— Submitted by the Marsal Family School of Education
