Russell L.

Ackoff, Management Consultant &

Systems Thinker, 90
Professor Russell L. Ackoff has been described as a Renaissance Man, architect, city
planner, philosopher, behavioral scientist, trailblazer in the field of organizational
operations, the pre-eminent authority on organizational systems theory, best-selling
author, world traveler—even a humorist. Recognized internationally as a pragmatic
academic, Russ, as he was known to all, devoted most of his professional life to
“dissolving” complex societal and organizational problems by engaging all stakeholders
in designing solutions.

Born in Philadelphia to Jack and Fannie (Weitz) Ackoff, he completed undergraduate

studies in Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania in 1941. From 1942 to 1946
he served in the U.S. Army, stationed in the Philippines. Upon returning from the war, he
obtained a doctorate in the Philosophy of Science from Penn, where he met and
married Alexandra Makar.

From 1947 to 1951 Dr. Ackoff was Assistant Professor in Philosophy and Mathematics
at Wayne State University. It was here that he first sought to establish an institute
devoted to applying philosophical beliefs about the nature of man to the design and
improvement of social institutions. In 1951, he and a group of colleagues were invited to
join the Case Institute of Technology (now Case Western Reserve University)
School of Engineering, where they were instrumental in establishing one of the world's
first Departments of Operations Research, an accomplishment that still identifies Ackoff
as the “Father of Operations Research.”

In 1964 the fledgling graduate business program at the Wharton School recruited
Ackoff and his colleagues and in 1980, the Social Systems Sciences Department was
established. This innovative program combined organizational design theory and
practice, sought to escape traditional disciplinary bounds, and cultivated students
motivated by independent thought and action. In 1986 Dr. Ackoff retired from Penn,
became Anheuser Busch Professor Emeritus of Management Science, and founded
INTERACT, a consulting firm and think tank.

In September 2000, Russ was honored at Penn by the establishment of the Ackoff
Center for Advancement of Systems Approaches (ACASA) in the School of
Engineering and Applied Science, the result of generous contributions from Ray
Stata, Chairman of the Board, Analog Devices: the Anheuser-Busch Foundation; and
the General Motors Foundation.

In 2002/2003, the Wharton School created the Russell L. Ackoff Endowment, funded
through support initially provided by the charitable trust of Anheuser-Busch. With a $1.2
million endowment, the fund promoted research and practice in risk management and
systems science. This was followed in 2005 by the establishment of the Wharton Risk
Center Russell Ackoff Doctoral Student Fellowship and Ackoff Fellows Program
established to encourage and support doctoral research on decision making.

In fall 2003, at age 87, Russ returned to Penn as Distinguished Affiliated Faculty in the
School of Arts and Sciences. He taught “Systems Thinking Applied to Management”
a full graduate course in the Organizational Dynamics Master of Science and Master of
Philosophy degree programs, an academic and practice community of adult working
professionals.

In 2005, he co-founded Adopt a Neighborhood for Development, Inc., an organization

dedicated to encouraging and facilitating self development programs in disadvantaged
communities. In 2007, the Ackoff Program, Tomsk State University, in Tomsk, Russia
was established.

In 2008 the Russell L. Ackoff Systems Thinking Library and Archive was established in
the Organizational Dynamics program in the School of Arts and Sciences. The
Library holds his more than 300 scholarly publications and nearly three dozen books,
his private manuscripts and personal library of more than 3000 books on systems,
design, philosophy, social science, as well as his awards, fellowships, medals,
endowment fund, and his 6 honorary doctorates in science and letters. His books which
include Introduction to Operations Research, The Art of Problem Solving, Creating the
Corporate Future, and Management in Small Doses are read around the world and
several have been translated into 15 or more languages.

In 2008 the Ackoff Program, New Bulgarian University in Sofia, Bulgaria was
established, and in 2009 the Ackoff Center for Design Thinking at the Da Vinci
Institute, South Africa was established.

Over his years of teaching, traveling and lecturing Ackoff acquired a fiercely loyal
following of students, colleagues, and clients. Resisting always the moniker of “guru” so
often applied to him in the popular business press, he once said “I am not a guru...gurus
encourage followers who do things their way. I am an educator...I encourage others to
go out and adapt these ideas...to do whatever is going to be the most effective solution
for them.”

Russ continued to teach around the world including in September 2009 at which time he
gave a lecture in Wharton’s Executive Education program. He passed away on
October 29th, 2009 due to complications following hip replacement surgery. He is
survived by his second wife, Helen Wald Ackoff, and three children from his first
marriage, Alan W., Karen B., and Karla S.

Personal email memories can be sent to the Russell L. Ackoff Systems Thinking Library
and Archive: http://www.organizationaldynamics.upenn.edu/od.cgi/ackofflibrary.html?