Friends, colleagues and students of Robert Tannenbaum, a
renowned professor emeritus of the Anderson School at UCLA, are
mourning his death this week and remembering all they learned from
him.
Tannenbaum, called a “walking wise man” by a close
friend, died on March 15 of congestive heart failure in his Carmel
home. He was 87 and is survived by his wife of 58 years, Edith, two
daughters and three grandchildren.
Tannenbaum was born in Cripple Creek, Colo. and was raised in
Southern California. He was a Navy lieutenant during World War II,
serving in the Pacific Islands. He later received his PhD in
economics from the University of Chicago.
While working at UCLA during the 1950s and through the 1970s he
helped put The Anderson School on the map by developing theories
and teaching practices in the then new field of organization and
leadership development.
He was a pioneer in the development of T-groups, which were
widely used in the 1960s and 1970s in sensitivity training for
managers. In these group sessions, which lasted about a week,
members of management would talk about themselves and learn how to
reach a sensitivity about each other.
Sam Culbert, friend, colleague, and former student of the
respected professor, said Tannenbaum thought people in leadership
roles were effective to the extent that they were both aware of
themselves as unique individuals and sensitive to their impact on
people around them.
Culbert said during a time of change in the United States, when
society was breaking loose with civil rights and women’s movements,
Tannenbaum was planting the idea that leadership was about people
leading individuals and not categories.
“He saw everyone as a distinct individual and never put
anyone in a category. Every person felt seen,” Culbert said
about Tannenbaum’s skills as a teacher.
Culbert added Tannenbaum’s classes were always
overcrowded, and students not only learned new ways to think of
leadership by engaging in hands on exercises, but also gained
personal growth.
In 1977 Tannenbaum retired from UCLA but continued to work in
the management field by counseling executives and helping to
develop a masters program in Organization Development at Pepperdine
University.
He won numerous awards and honors throughout his career, but it
was his impact on every individual he met that friends and
co-workers remember most about him.
“He was the most loving man I’ve met in my whole
life,” said Jean Coget, who, under his academic
advisor’s advice, drove to Northern California on a
pilgrimage to meet Tannenbaum.
Coget said his advisor told him, “If you want to meet God
before he dies, go see Bob Tannenbaum.”
“He was kind of like a father to (my advisor) and I think
he was like that to many people,” Coget said.
Susan Nero, who worked with Tannenbaum as his secretary,
doctorate student and colleague said what she remembers about him
was how amazing it was to travel with him.
“Wherever you would go, in airports people would come out
of the woodwork, come up to him and say “˜you changed my life,
I’ll never forget you,'” she said.
Nero said many people owe a lot to Tannenbaum because he was so
generous with his support and impacted their lives in a profound
way.
A memorial service will be held on June 29 at UCLA.