Bauer, Raymond Augustine, 1916-1977

Raymond A. Bauer was the Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School from 1974 until his death in 1977. He earned his doctorate at Harvard University in 1950 and was a fellow in the Russian Research Center. In 1953 Bauer joined the MIT Center for International Studies and in 1955 became a fellow in MIT's Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science. He returned to Harvard in 1957 as Professor of Business Administration. Raymond A. Bauer's work focused on such diverse subjects as Soviet psychology, advertising and consumer behavior, the policy making process in government, and the social responsiveness of corporations.

Raymond A. Bauer was born on September 7, 1916 in Chicago, Illinois. He received his BS in 1943 from Northwestern University, his MA in 1948, and his PhD in 1950, both from Harvard University. While a graduate student he was a fellow in Harvard’s Russian Research Center. After earning his doctorate he taught social relations at Harvard until 1953.

In 1953 Professor Bauer left Harvard to teach at MIT's Center for International Studies and in 1955 became a fellow of MIT’s Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Science. He returned to Harvard in 1957 as Professor of Business Administration at HBS. In 1970 he left briefly to work at the White House as the Senior Consultant to the National Goals Research Staff where he contributed to a published a report entitled, “Toward a Balanced Growth Quantity with Quality.” In 1974 Professor Bauer became the first Joseph C. Wilson Professor of Business Administration, a position he kept until his death in July 1977.

Professor Bauer received many awards during his time at HBS. In 1964 he, along with Ithiel de Sola Pool and Lewis Anthony Dexter, won the Woodrow Wilson Foundation Book Award for their book, American Business and Public Policy . He was also awarded the American Association for Public Opinion Research Award for Exceptionally Distinguished Achievement in 1975.

Professor Bauer served on many committees and associations. He was a member of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, the American Association for Public Opinion Research, the American Psychological Association, the Massachusetts Psychological Association, the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and many others.

Raymond Bauer wrote fifteen books and more than 100 articles dealing with such diverse subjects as Soviet psychology, advertising and consumer behavior, the policy making process in government, and the social responsiveness of corporations.