Kellogg professor Robert Neuschel, a former director of the Northwestern University Transportation Center and founder of Kellogg’s first managerial leadership course, died Monday at age 84.
Neuschel taught corporate governance and leadership for 25 years and was director of the Transportation Center from 1979 to 1992. According to the Kellogg Web site, he came to NU after a long career at McKinsey & Co., an international management consulting firm, where he assisted clients in executive development and organizational planning.
“He was very fond of saying he’d worked on every continent except Antarctica, and he was trying to get there,” said Jay Franke, assistant director of the Transportation Center.
Franke said he remembers Neuschel as hardworking and innovative and cited the professor’s success in establishing Kellogg’s first leadership class in 1983.
“He pioneered the field, really,” Franke said. “He was able, through his contacts, to bring in a star-studded cast of speakers.”
Neuschel’s son, Fritz, said his father believed it was his civic duty to enter the field of education.
“He felt very strongly about giving back, and he felt that was a very important part of giving back to society — to develop future leaders,” he said. “He used to say the biggest challenge the world would face in the next century was the development of enough leaders.”
Robert Magee, a senior associate dean of faculty and research at Kellogg, said Neuschel had a positive influence on the careers of many students.
“He inspired a lot of students and launched them into business careers in which they could put to use the things he taught them,” said Magee. “He loved the students, and he was kind and insightful and a positive force at this school.”
Fritz Neuschel said his father drew upon his past leadership experiences at McKinsey when formulating lectures.
“He met and consulted for some of the heads of top corporations around the world, so firsthand he got to see some of the finest leaders of the military, of corporate America and the government,” he said.
At the time of his death, Neuschel was part of a national task force, “The World in 2010,” to help the U.S. Secretary of Energy formulate national energy policies. Neuschel served as a trustee of the North Suburban Mass Transit District, president of the Lake Forest, Ill., School District and chairman of the Lake Forest Symphony. He also was a member of President Reagan’s Transportation Task Force, according to a Kellogg Web site.
Neuschel is survived by his wife, three children, six grandchildren and a great-grandchild.
A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. today at the First Presbyterian Church of Lake Forest, 700 N. Sheridan Rd. Neuschel’s family requests flowers not be sent.
