In Memoriam: Lawrence Michael Lamont The professor of business administration emeritus taught at W&L from 1974 - 1999.

W&L News Office
April 2, 2022

Lawrence Michael Lamont, professor of business administration emeritus at Washington and Lee University, died March 31, 2022. He was 83.

He earned three academic degrees at the University of Michigan. He received a bachelor of science in chemical engineering, followed by a master’s degree in business administration and a doctoral degree in marketing and business administration.

Before joining W&L in 1974, he taught at the Institute of Science and Technology at the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado. He retired from W&L in 1999.

At W&L, he taught courses in marketing principles, management and research; advertising; statistical decision theory; and business strategy and policy. His research interests included the use of outside directors, succession planning and strategic planning in family businesses, as well as investigating consumer values and behavior, the legal environment of marketing and the personal selling styles of industrial salespeople. He published numerous articles, research papers and case studies on marketing and management in peer-reviewed journals and authored “Technology Transfer, Innovation and Marketing in Science-Oriented Spin-off Firms.”

In 1988, the Commerce School faculty launched the Summer Institute for Family Business. Lamont played a key role in the curriculum development, and his contributions were essential to the ongoing success for future Family Business Programs for several more summers.

Awarded a Fulbright grant in 1997-98, Lamont traveled to Sweden to teach and conduct research at the Jonkoping International Business School, Jonkoping University. As an active member of the American Marketing Association, he and a colleague received an award for “Outstanding Article” by the Western Marketing Educators’ Association, “Meeting the Challenges to Undergraduate Education” at the Annual Conference, Palm Springs, 1999.

Lamont’s consulting clients included retailers, financial institutions, non-profit organizations and manufacturers, with whom he consulted on market analysis, planning and research, as well as product evaluation, sales forecasting and advertising. He also served as a consultant and expert witness to attorneys and law offices in the areas of economic appraisal, price distribution, antitrust, contracts and marketing.

As professor emeritus, Lamont pursued his writing and consulting activities in retirement. He also joined World Association for Case Method Research & Application (WACRA) and presented research on case studies every summer for eight years, traveling and presenting academic programs with Dr. Anne Schroer-Lamont in England, Belgium, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Lamont is survived by his wife, Anne Schroer-Lamont, former associate dean of students at W&L, and children, Melissa Lynne Lamont-Gordon and Laurie Leigh Lamont.