A. Richard Krachenberg
A. Richard Krachenberg, professor of business administration and former dean of the School of Management at U-M-Dearborn, died July 5. He was 79 and lived in Plymouth.
U-M-Dearborn)
Krachenberg was a leading faculty member from the earliest days at U-M-Dearborn, joining the campus as assistant professor in 1962. He was promoted to associate professor in 1964 and professor in 1968.
He taught courses in marketing, management, business policy and organizational behavior at both the undergraduate and master’s levels. In 1981 Krachenberg was awarded the U-M-Dearborn Outstanding Teaching Award.
He served as acting dean of the School of Management on two different occasions, was director of the master’s in business administration program, and served on numerous academic and professional committees.
The Board of Regents named him professor emeritus in 1993.
“He has a distinguished record of scholarship, most recently including articles published in the Sloan Management Review, Information and Management Journal and the Journal of Marketing for Higher Education,” the regents noted at his retirement. “Most exemplary has been Professor Krachenberg’s contributions to the administrative needs of the School of Management and U-M-Dearborn, for which he received the 1991 Distinguished Service Award.”
Following his retirement Krachenberg maintained an active consulting practice, advising a variety of industrial firms, as well as banks and financial institutions, on marketing issues.
“Dick Krachenberg earned the respect and admiration of his colleagues and the affection of generations of students,” says Richard Czarnecki, professor emeritus of accounting at U-M-Dearborn, who worked with Krachenberg for nearly 30 years. “He was truly devoted to the mission of the campus, and especially committed to the cooperative education program that combined quality education with solid work experience.”
Krachenberg received his bachelor’s degree from Washington University, his master’s degree from Columbia University, and his doctorate in marketing and management from U-M. Before joining the U-M-Dearborn faculty he taught at The Ohio State University and on the U-M Ann Arbor campus.
He is survived by his wife, Brenda; daughter, Toni Naybach; and sons, Karl and Rolfe.
Services were held July 8. The family has requested that memorial contributions be directed to the Salvation Army of Plymouth or the First Church of Christ, Scientist of Plymouth.
—Submitted by Terry Gallagher, U-M-Dearborn Public Relations
