Terry Oliva
Introduction
Terry Oliva, Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management at Temple University's Fox School of Business, passed away on 6 Jun
: : : Posting
In Memoriam – Terry Oliva
We are very sorry to announce that Terry Oliva, Professor of Marketing and Supply Chain Management, passed away on Sunday, June 6, due to complications of treatment for lymphoma. His three-month struggle with this aggressive disease ended peacefully. Terry was 67. He is survived by his son Mark, daughter Andrea, grandson Ian, sister Jeanni, brother Paul, and stepmother Barbara.
Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society (), or the Lymphoma Research Foundation (). Memorial contributions may also be made to the newly established scholarship fund, the Terence A. Oliva Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please send checks payable to Temple University, with a memo noting the scholarship fund to: Donald P. Kirkwood, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, Fox School of Business, Temple University, Alter Hall, 1801 Liacouras Walk, Philadelphia PA 19122.
Terry was a valued and respected member of Temple University’s Fox School of Business and will be sorely missed. He was active in all aspects of the Marketing Department, including the Ph.D program, where he served on several committees and counseled numerous graduate students over the years. He served the Fox School in several areas including membership on the Promotion and Tenure committee, the Merit committee, and the Journal Vetting Committee. Terry was an excellent teacher and was a winner of Temple University’s Lindback Foundation Teaching award, the Fox School Andrisani-Frank Award for outstanding undergraduate teaching, the Fox School Leadership in Teaching Innovation Award, and the Department of Marketing senior faculty teaching award.
Terry had an outstanding research record. He won the Fox School Musser Award for Leadership in Research and was a Fellow of the Fox School’s Research Roundtable. His research was published in the top journals in marketing and management, including: Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Management Science, Academy of Management Review, Academy of Management Journal, and Organization Science. Terry had eclectic research interests, but was especially well known for his applications of catastrophe theory to marketing and organizational issues, including those dealing with network externalities, bandwagons and the adoption of high technology products by organizations. Terry was an champion of research quality, and encouraged all of his students to aim for A journals. His students are now faculty members at some of the top business schools including Cornell, Rice, the University of Miami and many others.
Terry received a BA in Mathematics and Art from St. Mary’s College, served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force, then earned an MBA at California State University at Fresno and a PhD in Operations Management from the University of Alabama. Prior to joining Temple University, Terry taught at Louisiana State University, Columbia University, the University of Pennsylvania and Rutgers University.
On a personal level, Terry was a devoted father of Mark and Andrea, and was very proud of them both. In recent years he was an enthusiastic "fencing dad" and keenly followed his daughter’s fencing accomplishments in high school and at Princeton University. We will sadly miss Terry’s intellectual engagement and his lively personality. We all wish his family the very best.
Please send your remembrances and anecdotes about Terry to Dick Lancioni at lancioni@temple.edu. To contribute to the Terence A. Oliva Memorial Scholarship Fund, send checks payable to Temple University to: Donald P. Kirkwood, Assistant Dean for Development and Alumni Relations, Fox School of Business, Temple University, Alter Hall, 1801 Liacouras Walk, Philadelphia PA 19122.
Regards,
Dick Lancioni
Susan Mudambi