Disheveled office, endless coffees in hand — those details were part of the story shared. But more, it was the smile, the empathy and love of family, friends and his work. Dr. Milind Dawande, former Mike Redeker Distinguished Professor and former coordinator of the Operations/Supply Chain Management Area of the Naveen Jindal School of Management, who passed away last May, was honored with a memorial event of research and remembrance.
The April 5 event, honoring a man who influenced future leaders in business, academia and in life, took place in the Executive Dining Room at the Jindal School.
A key in putting together the day was event co-chair Dr. Ganesh Janakiraman, Ashbel Smith Professor in the Jindal School’s OM area.
“You see this room filled with people and you see how many lives he affected,” Janakiraman said during a break. “All but one of the research presenters are students of his. He’d be so touched by all the people who came out today.”
Maybe it was appropriate that the opening research presentation centered on advice because the presenter, like many, was thankful for receiving his share of advice from Dawande.
Dr. Xiao (Shawn) Zhang, an assistant professor at Saint Louis University, received his PhD in operations management from the Jindal School in 2018, and had an important message for attendees before he began the research talk.
“…I want to take a moment to thank someone, someone we all respect and someone whose leadership had a huge impact on all of us: Professor Milind Dawande…” Zhang said. “All of us took his course and his advice at least shaped my teaching style and I learned how to interact with students from the way he interacted with us…He is a great, perfect example of research excellence and it’s an honor for me to present first in memory of him.”
Zhang’s research presentation focused on how to motivate advisors to give good advice. The research looked at two incentives and the data found that advisors find greater incentive in giving better advice through creating a reputation system than through being rewarded financially.
“It would be surprising to some that this would have a pull over money but we also must remember that your reputation stays with you,” he said during a break. “Your bad advice follows you and so does good advice.”
Another research presentation delved into keeping the consumer informed post-sale and found there are times when this isn’t the best choice.
“The Domino’s tracker is great if they have strong delivery but not every company is good at this part,” Dr. Harish Guda, an assistant professor in supply chain management at Arizona State University, said after his talk. “Companies are so focused in showing your order’s path after the sale, but our data shows that it’s hurting companies to keep you informed when they do badly in what they are informing you about. Work on your problems — but, at the same time, why are you actually featuring information that shows you’re not good at what you do?”
Someone who was good at what he did? His mentor Dawande.
“He taught me how to be better at asking the right questions,” said Guda, who graduated from the Jindal School in 2019 with a PhD in management science. “Inquisitiveness is so important to research and he helped me refine that ability.”
Tears and Laughter
After lunch, Dr. Hasan Pirkul, Caruth Chair and Jindal School dean, gave a remembrance of Dawande as someone who provided important calmness to him.
“…He always wanted to do the right thing for the school,” Pirkul said. “So whatever our school has become over the years, whatever we have accomplished, Milind has the lion’s share…We can not thank him enough…He led such a peaceful life. He helped so many people…”
Dr. Varghese Jacob, Lars Magnus Ericsson Chair and Jindal School vice dean, remembered Dawande as someone who was truly there for him when he would wrestle with a problem and, like many others, he greatly admired his commitment to teaching and beyond.
“He never complained, no matter what I asked of him,” Jacob said.
Laughter came throughout the remembrance, including a recollection of a time when the inside of a tent was getting its share of water from a hole. Dawande observed that same hole allows you to see the beautiful outside.
This was a consistent message: Dawande was a man who had a rare gift for lifting up people.
To Janakiraman, Dawande was irreplaceable and unforgettable.
“He would always find the time to help, whether it was a colleague who was stuck on something or a student who needed direction,” he said. “You can’t ever replace a person like this, but you can learn from them, you can remember them and you can take the time with others as he did. I can’t tell you how much it would have meant to him that people have responded the way they have.”
Dr. Anyan Qi, an associate professor in the Jindal School’s OM area and an event committee co-chair, found the day all too appropriate.
“Students learning and networking and that feeling of community — these are things that (Dawande) encouraged,” Qi said. “He taught them the technical but also how to reach out to others to help grow your future.”
The deep-felt response to Dawande’s passing was also reflected in the Milind Dawande Fellowship Endowment, which was shown to have raised $43,547 by the time of the event. It funds one or more graduate fellowships to students in the MS Supply Chain Management program or the MS Management Science program, a reminder of the hallmark of his legacy: Jindal School students.
“He was a man who affected so many and you can see why,” Janakiraman said. “He has left a mark that can never be erased.”
