Dr. C. Kendrick Gibson of the Hope College faculty died unexpectedly on Saturday, April 19. He was 61.
He was a professor of business administration. A member of the faculty since 1986, he had also coordinated the "Hope in the Future" strategic planning process during 1989-90 and directed the college's Carl Frost Center for Social Science Research during 1991-92.
Gibson was born on March 4, 1942. He graduated from Louisiana State University in 1964 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, and completed his MBA at the university in 1969. He completed his doctorate in business administration at the University of Arkansas in 1978.
He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, and served as an officer with the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968.
Immediately before joining the Hope faculty, he had been a professor of management and marketing and dean of the School of Business at Henderson State University. He had also previously been an associate professor of management at Indiana State University at Terre Haute, and an assistant professor of management and marketing at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse.
Prior to completing his doctorate, Gibson had also worked in investment sales and sales management, and as vice president of a home construction and development firm.
He was the author of numerous articles published in scholarly journals. His article "An Empirical Investigation of the Nature of Hospital Mission," published in "Health Care Management Review," was selected for inclusion in the "best of HCMR" book "Health Care Management: Strategy, Structure and Process."
Gibson edited the book "Annual Advances in Business Cases" published by the Midwest Case Writers Association, which he served as president during 1985-86. His publications also included the instructional guide "Case Enrichment Portfolio for Selected Cases in Strategic Management," published by McGraw-Hill Inc.
Survivors include his wife, Sally, and four children: C. Kendrick Gibson of Austin Tex., Clayton Gibson-Faith of Ypsilanti (Hope College Class of 1996), Heather Bair of East Lansing (Hope College Class of 1997) and Nathaniel Bair of Ann Arbor (Hope College Class of 2000). He is also survived by a brother, Ford, of Shreveport, La.
A visitation will be held Tuesday, April 22 from 6-9 p.m. at the Notier-VerLee-Langeland Funeral Home, 16th Street and Fairbanks Avenue, Holland.
The funeral service will be held at 2 p.m. Wednesday at the Park Christian Reformed Church, 1496 W. 32nd Street, Holland.