John P. "Jack" Gould, a distinguished economist and former dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, passed away on December 17 at the age of 85. Gould's career at UChicago began in 1961 when he pursued his MBA and Ph.D. at the business school. He started teaching at Chicago Booth in 1965 but took a leave in 1969 to work for the U.S. government as a special assistant for economic affairs under President Richard Nixon.
Returning to Booth in 1970, Gould became only the second Ph.D. alum to be named dean. At that time, he expressed his desire to keep the school innovative, stating, “I hope to have the opportunity to do the kinds of things that will keep the school in the innovative frontier.”
Madhav Rajan, current dean of Chicago Booth, acknowledged Gould's impact: “Over six-plus decades at Booth, from Ph.D. student to faculty member to dean, Jack left a profound and lasting impact on the school’s trajectory and helped cement its eminence as a top business school.”
Gould made significant contributions during his tenure by establishing roles such as director of minority recruitment and promoting international expansion into Europe. He also introduced new learning methods like hands-on laboratory courses and spearheaded projects like Gleacher Center's downtown campus.
Harry L. Davis noted Gould's leadership style: “He didn’t just delegate; he had the ability to roll up his sleeves at exactly the right time—and he didn’t micromanage.” Former UChicago President Hanna Holborn Gray praised Gould's humane spirit and intellectual vitality.
As dean, Gould sought to rethink curriculum missions by including essential soft skills for workplaces and supported initiatives like LEAD (Leadership Effectiveness and Development) program which is now mandatory for first-year students.
Gray highlighted Gould’s commitment to interdisciplinary education: “He built an original model for an interdisciplinary scholarly community that forged connections between projects and fields of investigation not ordinarily linked together by professional schools elsewhere.”
Gould's interests extended beyond economics; he once invited Shakespearean scholar Prof. David Bevington to speak in a management class.
His wife Kathleen Carpenter shared memories of his lifelong interest in magic from childhood experiences with vaudeville shows.
Gould is survived by Carpenter and their sons John and Jeffrey.
A version of this obituary was originally published on the Chicago Booth website.