Weatherhead School of Management is celebrating the legacy and commitment of three faculty members who are retiring this year: Leon Blazey, Jr., Fred Collopy and Steven Feldman. The three dedicated professors have achieved multiple accomplishments during their time at Weatherhead.
“I want to express our sincere appreciation and thanks for their exceptional years of service to Weatherhead and Case Western Reserve University,” said Dean Manoj Malhotra. “I am confident that their students who have had the privilege of being in their classrooms have grown under their guidance and can attribute a measure of their personal and professional success to their time with them.”
Leon Blazey, Jr.
Professor Leon Blazey, Jr. has been a member of the accountancy faculty since 1999. His roots in the Case Western Reserve University community run deep, beginning as a 1963 graduate of Western Reserve University. Throughout his tenure at the University, he has served on many school and University committees including co-chairperson of Braden Fund, senator to the Faculty Senate and most recently as the treasurer of the Case Western Reserve Alumni Association. In the classroom, Lee’s classes ranged from taxation and accounting to critical business soft skills. As a researcher, he focused on the area of macro-economic effects of tax policy. His ability to engage students on the topics of taxation and accounting while also serving as a dedicated mentor to Weatherhead students resulted in a 2010 nomination for the University’s Carl F. Wittke Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching. Professionally and personally, Lee has remained engaged in his community as a member of the American Institute of Certified Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and several administrative roles for the city of Bratenahl. Lee and his wife Mary also chose to establish a lasting commitment to the school through the Lee and Mary Blazey Endowed Chair Fund, a gesture that will benefit generations of faculty and students here at Weatherhead.
Fred Collopy
Professor Fred Collopy has been a faculty member since 1989, teaching in the areas of information technology; designing and programming computer systems; systems thinking; and how to manage by designing. In 2008, he received Weatherhead’s Graduate Teaching Excellence Award. His work on behalf of the school was instrumental in developing the current Department of Design and Innovation, his leadership roles include serving as Vice Dean, Senior Associate Dean and Department Chair of Information Systems. Outside of Weatherhead, Fred was a Visiting Professor at Cornell University and a Visiting Scientist at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center. Over the course of his career at the University, Fred participated in a number of committees including the Faculty Advisory Committee for the Presidential Search (2006) and, most recently, the Academic Affairs Council. Fred’s multiple areas of research include managing and designing; forecasting; and visual instrumentation design. He has been published in leading academic and practitioner journals including Management Science, Journal of Marketing Research, Chief Executive, Interfaces and International Journal of Forecasting – resulting in over a thousand citations. His path-breaking work in managing as designing helped establish the role of design thinking and practices into management. Along with faculty member Richard J. Boland, Fred co-edited the book Managing as Designing. Earlier this spring, Fred was recognized for his dedication and service to the school and profession when he was awarded the status of Faculty Emeritus.
Steven Feldman
Professor Steve Feldman has been on faculty at Weatherhead since 1983, teaching in the areas of business and professional ethics; social and political environment of management; corporate governance; nonprofit governance and organization behavior. In addition to his work inside the classroom, Steve applied his expertise to administrative roles throughout the school and University. He served on the CWRU Faculty Senate and Personnel Committee, and as the Interim Executive Director for the Mandel Center for Nonprofit Organizations. His involvement in many facets of the school include Chair of the Departmental Ph.D. Program Committee, Director Ph.D. Programs in Management, member of the Research Committee and, most recently, he served on the Promotion and Tenure Committee and as the Associate Academic Integrity Officer for Graduate Programs. Beyond the walls of Weatherhead, Steve has had multiple opportunities to share his expertise with students across the country and the world as a visiting professor at Peking University, Oxford University, University of Innsbruck and University of Minnesota. Over the course of his academic career, Steve has conducted extensive research in the area of American and Chinese business relations with a focus on ethical and cultural differences. He is also the author of three books, Trouble in the Middle: American-Chinese Business Relations, Culture, Conflict, and Ethics; Memory as a Moral Decision; and The Culture of Monopoly Management. Also in recognition of Steve’s dedication and service to the school and profession, we await the pending decision on the Faculty Emeritus consideration submitted.