Gerald (Jerry) Albaum, PhD

Gerald (Jerry) Albaum, PhD , of Albuquerque, passed away on Saturday, March 23, 2019 at the age of 85.

Jerry earned his bachelor’s degree at University of Washington in 1954 and his doctorate at the University of Wisconsin in 1962.  A beloved husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, Jerry was a loyal supporter of philanthropic causes and extended his love of football to the field as a referee of high school games for more than two decades.   Hobbies included poker, skiing and traveling the world.  His unselfish commitment to helping others enabled him to touch the lives of many across the globe.  A respected author and award-winning professor at several universities throughout the U.S and internationally, Jerry most recently served as a research professor at the UNM Anderson School of Management for the past 19 years.  Jerry is survived by his loving wife of 64 years, Carol, their three children Marc, Dan and Lisa, eight grandchildren, and one great-grandson.

In lieu of flowers, the family appreciates your donation to the American Heart Association.

The following memorial is a professional tribute to Jerry, including the link to a video interview, that was prepared by his wonderful friends and respected colleagues -- Sharon Beatty, Bob Peterson, Linda Golden, Barry Babin, and Catherine Roster:

Gerald (Jerry) Albaum (PhD, U. of Wisconsin, Madison, 1962)

The marketing discipline recently lost a legend, inspiration, and great friend with the unexpected passing of Gerald (Jerry) Albaum. Jerry’s presence enhanced marketing departments wherever he went, both in the United States and around the globe. He and his wife, Carol, especially enjoyed traveling and Jerry enjoyed teaching and speaking at his various favorite locales, including extended visits in Australia, Denmark, Finland, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, among others. Early in his career Jerry was on faculty at U. of Pittsburgh, University of Arizona, and University of Massachusetts, before settling in Eugene. At U. of Oregon he served on the faculty from 1969 to 1999 and chaired 15 PhD dissertations and served on nine PhD committees. His mentorship during these years and throughout his career was truly above and beyond. After he “retired” from the UO, he spent the final decades of his life as Research Professor at Anderson School of Management, U. of New Mexico in Albuquerque, while maintaining his Senior Research Fellow status at the IC2 Institute at the University of Texas, Austin. While at UNM, he ran their college of business research seminar for many years and maintained close mentorships with faculty and students there and throughout the world. His advice and mentorship lives on through his many students and colleagues and their students. One piece of advice many of us never forgot is his telling us – “there is a journal for every article.” That is, never give up!

Jerry was an outstanding scholar, with more than 120 peer-reviewed articles, even as recently as 2018, and nine textbooks (in marketing research and international primarily – his two areas of greatest interest), as well as countless other publications and presentations. He contributed greatly to many of our professional associations in a variety of capacities. He was a member of almost every marketing association possible, as well as serving on review boards of many outstanding journals. Also, Jerry was a member of the very first cohort of Academy of Marketing Science Distinguished Fellows in 1991, and was a major force linking marketing academics and direct selling practitioners.  Jerry was also involved with the Direct Selling Educational Foundation where he made an impact for over three decades.  Throughout his six-decade career, Jerry was particularly interested in marketing research methods and international marketing issues. He loved research with a deep passion and loved helping others fulfill their research passions, and was still actively coming into the office daily and working on research projects until his passing.

Jerry will be sorely missed. He was one of the kindest and gentlest human beings on this earth. Those of us who knew and loved him are thankful that we had the opportunity to know and work with him, and we are gratified that his research passion and wisdom will continue to live through others. We extend our deepest sympathies to his wife Carol, his three children, his grandchildren, and the extended family.

There will be a Memorial Service celebrating Jerry’s life at a later date.

We also include a link here to an interview of Jerry done by O.C. Ferrell.  This video is also available on the AMS website. http://www.fnutl.com/ams/Albaum.mp4