John DeVogt, Professor of Management Emeritus at W&L, Dies at 87 DeVogt taught at W&L from 1962 to 2000.

Washington and Lee University
May 2, 2018

John DeVogt, professor of management emeritus at Washington and Lee University, died on April 29, 2018, in Lexington, Virginia. He was 87. He taught at W&L from 1962 to 2000.

“He was a model teacher, scholar, mentor and community leader,” said W&L President Will Dudley. “Generations of alumni remember him with great fondness, as do his colleagues.”

DeVogt was born on Oct. 20, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan. He served in the Air Force from 1951 to 1955. DeVogt obtained his B.S. in business administration (1957) and his Ph.D. (1966) from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill.

At W&L, he found his home in the Department of Management (later called Business Administration). He taught quantitative methods, production management, business ethics and strategic management. He served as head of the department, establishing relationships with management programs abroad and bringing the Goldratt seminars to Washington and Lee.

Before he started his long career at W&L, DeVogt spent two years with the Otis Elevator Co. and was a teaching assistant at UNC.

DeVogt served W&L in numerous ways, including stints on the Advisory Committee, Committee on Courses and Degrees, Committee on Intercollegiate Athletics, Computer Committee, and Financial Aid Committee, among others. He was also the primary founder, and director for the first three years, of W&L’s Summer Scholars Program.

He belonged to Phi Eta Sigma, Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Beta Kappa, and he served as president of the W&L chapters of the latter two honor societies.

In his professional field, DeVogt was a founding member and holder of nearly every office, including the presidency, of the Southern Management Association, and the winner of its Distinguished Service Award, in 1976.

In the community, DeVogt chaired the Lexington School Board and served as president and legislative chairman of the Virginia School Boards Association. He served on the State Advisory Committee on Teacher Education; chaired the advisory board of the Lexington office of the American Federal Savings and Loan Association; was an elder in the Lexington Presbyterian Church and a long-time member of its choir; and directed the summer Institute of Family Business. He also served on the board of the Henry Street Playhouse.

In his spare time, DeVogt enjoyed golfing, as well as performing in productions ranging from Gilbert and Sullivan operettas, to a dramatic adaptation of “The Red Badge of Courage,” to a barbershop quartet.

On the occasion of his retirement, his colleagues noted that he preferred small classes, so every term he had requested an 8:00 a.m. time slot; and that he had missed only three days of classes in his 38 years in the classroom.

Among his survivors are his wife of 58 years, Ann DeVogt, and his daughters, Linda and Joanne.

A memorial celebration of his life will be held on Saturday, May 26, at 11 a.m., at Lexington Presbyterian Church.