John Hoagland, purchasing professor at Michigan State University’s Broad College of Business from 1952 until his retirement in 1990, passed away March 6 at the age of 93.
A global leader in the field of purchasing and supply chain management, Hoagland was internationally recognized for his contributions to education and research. He created the well-known and still widely used Purchasing Managers Index, which tracks industrial purchasing activity. He also helped institute the Journal of Purchasing and Materials Management.
“As a pioneer in educating leaders in the field of purchasing and operations, John Hoagland was instrumental in shaping and transforming the future of the supply chain management industry. His legacy will continue through the many students he has influenced,” says Stefanie Lenway, Eli and Edythe L. Broad Dean.
Throughout his long and impressive career, Hoagland received numerous awards and recognitions, including the NAPM Professorship, J. Shipman Gold Medal Award from the Institute of Supply Chain Management, Paul Harris Fellow from Rotary International, and the Robert Angell Award from NAPM-Central Michigan. He received the Honorary Alumni Award from the MSU Alumni Association in 2003.
His contributions have also been recognized by former students and the industry. In 2004, Richard Metzler (BA Operations Management ’63) created the Hoagland-Metzler Endowed Chair in Purchasing and Supply Management in honor of his former advisor and professor to attract outstanding faculty to continue the college’s leading role in supply chain management. Hoagland and Metzler also provided the seed gift to establish the Supply Chain Management Endowed Scholarship/Fellowship Fund to support Broad students interested in purchasing or the purchasing aspect of supply chain management. In 2010, the Institute of Supply Management (ISM) created the John H. Hoagland Award for Distinguished Service, which honors outstanding contributions to the field of supply management, in recognition of his impact on the field and his advancement of ISM’s Business Survey Committee.
Hoagland received his BA from Oberlin College, MBA from Harvard, and PhD from Ohio State University.