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Walter H. Klein, who taught in the Carroll School of Management for 30 years and helped lead school efforts to explore the role of social issues in management, died Aug. 28 in Timonium, Md. He was 89.
Dr. Klein came to Boston College in 1969, at a time of transition for business education highlighted by new accreditation requirements for the MBA degree that called for expanded classes in social and political aspects of business.
At BC, he shared expertise in new disciplines — organizational behavior, operations research and strategic management — that he had cultivated during 16 years at Villanova University, where he taught economics, organized and chaired a new department in industrial administration and served as associate dean.
Dr. Klein was recalled by colleagues as a tough questioner of students but as a man of high ideals who cared about social issues.
A native of Pittsburgh, Dr. Klein was the first in his family to attend college, earning three degrees from the University of Pittsburgh and completing postdoctoral fellowships at Yale University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. He served in the US Marine Corps and fought at Okinawa during World War II.
He was a co-founder of the Social Issues in Management Division for the Academy of Management, a professional organization for scholars, and received the division’s highest honor, the Sumner Marcus Award for distinguished service, in 1985. He also served as a trustee at Merrimack College in North Andover for eight years, and was an education consultant to what formerly was known as the American College of Life Underwriters.
Dr. Klein and his wife Rosemary — who died in March — were longtime residents of Needham, Mass. He is survived by his five children, Kevin Klein, Linda Bechtel, Alison Klein, Joyce Klein and Rosemary Burt, all of whom received undergraduate degrees from Boston College, and 12 grandchildren.
A memorial service at Boston College will be announced. Burial was in Dulaney Valley Memorial Gardens in Timonium.