Jack N. Behrman *52
Jack Behrman, retired professor of international business at the University of North Carolina (UNC), died Aug. 19, 2016, at age 94.
Behrman graduated from Davidson College in 1943, after which he earned a master’s degree from UNC and then a Ph.D. in economics from Princeton in 1952. After teaching at Washington and Lee, George Washington University, and the University of Delaware, he was the assistant secretary of commerce for domestic and international business during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations.
In 1964, he returned to academia at the business school at UNC, where he remained for 27 years until retiring. He was also director of the M.B.A. program and associate dean of the faculty. A pioneer in comparative management, foreign licensing of technology, international business and government relations, and the role of multinational corporations, he published widely.
Behrman was an adviser to the departments of State, Commerce, and Treasury and the United Nations, as well as a director of several corporations and nongovernment organizations. Among his honors was an honorary doctorate from Davidson.
He was predeceased by Louise, his wife of more than 70 years. He is survived by two children, seven grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren. Two children predeceased him.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.
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Andrea Behrman k*52
7 Years AgoMy father, Jack Behrman, and Princeton
My father, Jack Behrman, Ph.D. (1952, Princeton), spoke fondly of his decision to attend Princeton. He made a strategic decision to pursue his doctoral training in this particular academic environment. I believe he remained grateful for that decision and for the mentor who suggested this as an alternative to other choices - knowing the kind of environment that would foster the development of my father's thinking in his chosen area of international business, trade, and economics. My parents told many stories relative to their years in Graduate School, living on pennies, and more. My mother provided a tremendous home environment and supported our family and my father in his pursuit. I believe they were very much a necessary team for all that they accomplished in raising a family and having an impactful, contributing career and family. Both Jack and Louise passed away in 2016, at 94 and 92 years of age, only weeks apart, a testament to their endearing love for one another and having lived very full lives together. Today is their wedding anniversary, and the fact that I had the opportunity to look up Princeton alumni today reminds me that they are very much still present in my life and my brother's and in all of their grandchildren and relatives.