Out of all the universities in America, thousands of people are extremely thankful Jagdish N. Sheth (MBA ’63, PHD ’67) chose to attend the University of Pittsburgh School of Business.
Even though it was many years ago, Pittsburgh is still a place he calls home. It’s where he and his wife Madhu married in Heinz Chapel in 1962, where his daughter Reshma Shah earned her PhD in 1997, and it’s the starting point for his career as a scholarly researcher and professor.
Sheth recently retired from his position as the Charles H. Kellstadt Professor of Business at the Goizueta Business School at Emory University. He has over 50 years of combined experience in teaching and research at the University of Southern California, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Emory University.
His work has taken him to universities across the United States, yet it’s the Universities of Pittsburgh and Illinois that hold a special spot in his heart.
Philanthropic Efforts at Pitt and Beyond
When Sheth was a PhD student, he was awarded $1,000 for his research; $500 came from the Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business and $500 came from S&H Green Stamps. He always remembered how much that meant to him, thus the establishment of the Sheth Fellows to provide $1,000 in research funding for each PhD student who passes their comprehensive exams. He has a similar award at Emory.
The Sheth family’s generosity has supported numerous other efforts at Pitt. A few examples include:
- The Sheth Foundation Endowment for the Advancement of Marketing at the School of Business
- The Business of Humanity Project at the School of Business
- The Sheth International Award in the University Center of International Studies
- The Bhagawan Vasu Pujya Swami Jain Studies Post Doc at the University of Pittsburgh
- The Mark Nordenberg and Senator Mary Jo White Positive Politics & Good Governance Lecture Series
- The Heinz Chapel Building Fund
Through the Madhuri and Jagdish Sheth Foundation and the Sheth Family Foundation, Sheth, his wife, and his family have given to over 50 community, academic, and healthcare organizations around the world.
He is the founder and chairman of the Academy of Indian Marketing (AIM) which supports research and scholarship among Indian scholars in marketing and management. In addition, the family supports the American Marketing Association Sheth Foundation Doctoral Consortium, hosted annually by different universities, and support research in emerging fields through professional business organizations.
Scholarly Significance
Sheth is a globally renowned academician known for his scholarly contributions in marketing, competitive strategy, and geopolitical analysis. He has authored or coauthored more than three hundred papers and several books.
His autobiography, The Accidental Scholar, has inspired others in the areas of education and academic entrepreneurship.
Recognition and Governmental Influence
At Pitt, he has received practically every honor bestowed on an alum; the Legacy Laurette Award, 225 Medallion, Distinguished Service Award, and the Outstanding Alumni Achievement Award.
But just as his charitable efforts extend beyond Pitt, so does his recognition.
In 2018, Sheth celebrated his 80th birthday with letters of tribute from former President Jimmy Carter and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. According to an article in Global Atlanta, his birthday celebration included 600 guests.
“Celebrating birthdays of 80-year-olds is an Indian tradition,” Rajen Sheth, Sheth’s son, told Global Atlanta. “Not all Indians make it to that age.”
Two years later, he received one of the highest civilian awards given by the Government of India, the Padma Bhushan Award for literature and education. In honor of that recognition, in 2020 the IFIM Business School, an Indian management institution, was renamed the Jagdish Sheth School of Management.
Always willing to share his knowledge, Sheth has been an advisor to the Government of Singapore in repositioning the nation for the future and has been the policy advisor to the U.S. Government about the future of the telecommunications industry.
Gene Anderson, dean of The School of Business first met Sheth when he was an undergraduate at the University of Illinois, and says, “his class changed the trajectory of my life—it’s the reason I decided to pursue a PhD. That kind of influence is rare, but it’s not unique to my experience; Jagdish has a gift for helping others see possibilities that they hadn’t yet recognized. Pitt Business is proud to call him one of our own, and grateful that his generosity and mentorship continue to shape the next generation of scholars, just as he shaped mine.”