Jay Owen Light (October 3, 1941October 15, 2022) was an American academic administrator and corporate director. He served as the ninth

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Harvard Business School Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate school, graduate business school of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university. Located in Allston, Massachusetts, HBS owns Harvard Business Publishing, which p ...

Early life

Light was born in

Lorain, Ohio Lorain () is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States. It is located in Northeast Ohio on Lake Erie, at the mouth of the Black River (Ohio), Black River about west of Cleveland. It is the List of cities in Ohio, ninth-most populous city in O ...

, on October 3, 1941. His father, James, worked as a supervisor at a steel plant; his mother, Marian Leisey, was a high school teacher. Light grew up in a house on

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

and attended Lorain High School in his hometown. Aspiring to be an astronaut, he studied engineering physics at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, graduating with a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in 1963. He was a member of the

Quill and Dagger Quill and Dagger is a senior honor society at Cornell University, founded in 1893. In 1929, ''The New York Times'' stated that election into Quill and Dagger and similar societies constituted "the highest non-scholastic honor within reach of unde ...

society during his time at the university. He then worked at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

, where he headed a space-mission analysis team. He later undertook doctoral studies at

's (HBS) joint program in decision and control theory, and was awarded a

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

in 1970.

Career

After obtaining his doctorate, Light became part of the HBS faculty. In 1972, he became the first faculty member to be conferred the inaugural Excellence in Teaching Award, in recognition of his work in the first-year

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) program. His students included

Seth Klarman Seth Andrew Klarman (born May 21, 1957) is an American billionaire investor, hedge fund manager, and author. He is a proponent of value investing. He is the chief executive and portfolio manager of the Baupost Group, a Boston-based private in ...

and

Jamie Dimon James Dimon ( ; born March 13, 1956) is an American businessman who has been the chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of JPMorgan Chase since 2006. Dimon began his career as a management consultant at Boston Consulting Group. After earnin ...

. He was credited with formulating a new method of teaching capital markets, co-authoring the book ''The Financial System'' with W.L. White, as well as extensive course materials. Light was a member of the HBS Finance Unit (later becoming its chair), as well as senior associate dean for faculty planning, and for planning and development. He was also a director of the Harvard Management Company, which was responsible for investing the university's endowment. Light became interim dean of HBS on August 1, 2005. He was appointed by

Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as presiden ...

President of Harvard University The president of Harvard University is the chief academic administration, administrator of Harvard University and the ''Ex officio member, ex officio'' president of the President and Fellows of Harvard College, Harvard Corporation. Each is appoin ...

, to the post on a full-time basis eight months later on April 24, despite being a

dark horse A dark horse is a previously lesser-known person, team or thing that emerges to prominence in a situation, especially in a competition involving multiple rivals, that is unlikely to succeed but has a fighting chance, unlike the underdog who is exp ...

candidate. During his tenure, he oversaw the conclusion of a $600 million

capital campaign Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

that raised money towards

student financial aid Student financial aid (or student financial support, or student aid) is financial support given to individuals who are furthering their education. Student financial aid can come in a number of forms, including scholarships, Grant (money), grants, ...

, hiring faculty, technology initiatives, and campus infrastructure. He was credited with acting swiftly to manage expenses and produce added revenue during the

2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...

, leaving HBS (and the wider university) in a better financial state. The school expanded its international presence during his deanship, opening a research center in India (2006) before inaugurating the Harvard Center Shanghai four years later. HBS introduced courses that saw MBA students travel to Asia, Africa, and South America, in addition to a joint degree program with

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

. He also laid the foundations for

Harvard Innovation Labs Harvard Innovation Labs (i-Lab) is an institution which aims to promote team-based and entrepreneurial activities among Harvard students, faculty, entrepreneurs, and members of the Allston and Greater Boston communities. The i-Lab has incubated ...

, which opened a year after his retirement, and oversaw the refurbishment of the

Baker Library A baker is a tradesperson who bakes and sometimes sells breads and other products made of flour by using an oven or other concentrated heat source. The place where a baker works is called a bakery. History Ancient history Since grai ...

. Light served as HBS dean until July 1, 2010, when he was succeeded by

Nitin Nohria Nitin Nohria (born February 9, 1962) is an Indian-American academic. He was the tenth dean of Harvard Business School. He is also the George F. Baker Professor of Administration. He is a former non-executive director of Tata Sons. In January 202 ...

. After retiring as dean, Light was elected to the board of directors of the

Hospital Corporation of America HCA Healthcare, Inc. (historically known as Hospital Corporation of America) is an American for-profit operator of health care facilities that was founded in 1968. It is based in Nashville, Tennessee, and, as of May 2020, owned and operated 186 ...

in March 2011. He also served on the boards of

The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...

, and

Partners HealthCare Mass General Brigham (MGB) (formerly Partners HealthCare) is a not-for-profit, integrated health care system that engages in medical research, teaching, and patient care. It is the largest hospital-based research enterprise in the United States, ...

Personal life

Light was married to Judith Hodges until his death. They were introduced by her roommate in 1970. Together, they had two children. He resided in South Dartmouth and

Jupiter Island, Florida Jupiter Island is a town located on the barrier island also called Jupiter Island, in Martin County, Florida, United States; the town is part of Florida's Treasure Coast. It is part of the Port St. Lucie metropolitan area. The Town of Jupiter ...

, during his later years. Light died on October 15, 2022, at his home in South Dartmouth. He was 81, and suffered from

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia; pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and produce high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or '' ...

prior to his death.

References

External links

Harvard Business School biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Light, Jay O. 1941 births 2022 deaths Businesspeople from Ohio Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Deaths from leukemia in Massachusetts Harvard Business School faculty People from Belmont, Massachusetts People from Lorain, Ohio Directors of Harvard Management Company Harvard Business School alumni HCA Healthcare people Business school deans