After a prolonged fight against cancer, UW-Madison Professor Mason A. Carpenter passed away Sept. 22 at the age of 50.
Carpenter had been part of the faculty at the Wisconsin School of Business since 1997.
""[Mason] was the embodiment of the Wisconsin Idea,"" François Ortalo-Magné, dean of the Wisconsin School of Business, said. ""He was somebody who did outstanding research, outstanding teaching and he always made the extra step to take his work to the world.""
Carpenter strived to share his expansive knowledge and expertise, offering his materials online for free and consistently interacting with leaders in industries related to his field, his coworkers said.
""He was a wonderful colleague and—as accomplished as he was—an even better person,"" said Barry Gerhart, the chair of the Department of Management and Human Resources at the business school. ""He's someone who is impossible to replace.""
Within the business school, Carpenter served as a professor of strategic management, the M. Keith Weikel Professor in Leadership and associate dean of evening and executive MBA programs.
He received numerous awards during his tenure at Madison, including MBA Professor of the Year and the Larson Excellence in Teaching Award from the Wisconsin School of Business.
A fund has been established in honor of Carpenter and his legacy at UW-Madison. Primarily created to ensure financial security for his family, the memorial fund is a collaboration of his friends, colleagues and PhD advisor.
A memorial service for Carpenter will be held Wednesday at 2 p.m. at Asbury United Methodist Church, located at 6101 University Ave. Also on Wednesday, a visitation will be held at the Gunderson West Funeral Home, 7435 University Ave. in Middleton, from 1 p.m. until 2 p.m.
