Hall of Fame Member Biographies

Daniel A. Wren

The field of management studies has immensely benefitted from the work of University of Oklahoma Professor Daniel A. Wren. He earned a B.S. from the University of Missouri, and in 1964 obtained a Ph.D. in Business from the University of Illinois. After a teaching position at Florida State University, he came to OU in 1973 as Professor of Management and Curator of the Harry W. Bass Business History Collection. He has since blazed a trail of innovative scholarship and inspirational teaching. He has authored forty-three journal articles, numerous other publications, and nine books, four being edited works. As a mark of excellence, his book Evolution of Management Thought has gone through five editions (and one title change). His teaching prowess is legendary and he has influenced hundreds of students at the OU Price College of Business; his seminar in management thought is internationally recognized. Over his teaching and research career, Daniel A. Wren has earned numerous accolades. He has been given two Outstanding Educator of America Awards, the Southern Management Association Outstanding Service Award, the Academy of Management Award of Appreciation, the Merrick Foundation Teaching Award, been named a David Ross Boyd Professor, the Academy of Management’s Distinguished Educator of the Year for being “the most outstanding management historian of his generation”, and received the McCasland Foundation Professor of American Free Enterprise award. Professor Wren retired from the University of Oklahoma in 2000 but remained the curator of the Bass History Collection. In 2005, as a testament to his highly valued abilities, he was asked to return to the Price College of Business as Interim Dean for two years. Tonight we acknowledge the far-reaching contributions that Daniel A. Wren has made to enrich the lives of Oklahomans.