In memoriam: David Schmittlein, longest-serving dean of the Sloan School of Management
Schmittlein contributed to Sloan’s rise and transformation from 2007 to 2024
David Schmittlein, the Professor of Marketing and longest-serving dean in the history of the MIT Sloan School of Management, died on March 13 at the age of 69. Schmittlein was Dean from 2007 to 2024 and was at the helm of the Sloan School’s rise to its current status as one of the world’s most eminent business programs.
MIT Professor of Finance Andrew Lo said in a statement to MIT News that Schmittlein offered the Sloan School “the opportunity to define ourselves in ways that we weren’t doing prior to his joining.” In an email to the MIT community, President Sally Kornbluth wrote that in addition to improving the educational opportunities at Sloan, Schmittlein’s “wise, funny, judicious counsel left a lasting impression.”
A longtime Bay Stater, Schmittlein grew up in Northampton, Massachusetts. He came to MIT after 27 years at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was the Ira A. Lipman Professor of Marketing and Deputy Dean. Schmittlein earned a BA in mathematics from Brown University, as well as a MPhil in business and a PhD in marketing from Columbia University.
Schmittlein is survived by his wife Barbara Bickart, an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Questrom School of Business at Boston University. He is also survived by his children and extended family. According to Kornbluth and MIT News, a celebration of Schmittlein’s life will be held by MIT Sloan. Details have yet to be released.