Arnold Tannenbaum

Arnold S. Tannenbaum, Professor of Psychology in the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts, and Research Scientist, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research, retired from active faculty status on December 31, 1987.

Professor Tannenbaum served in the United States Navy from 1944-46, receiving an honorable discharge with the rank of ensign, USNR. He received his B.S.E.E. degree from Purdue University in 1945, his Ph.D. degree from Syracuse University in 1954, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Gothenberg, Sweden, in 1976. In 1949, Professor Tannenbaum joined the staff of the organizational behavior program at The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research as a research associate. His aim was to initiate a program of studies of the social psychology of organizations. He was appointed assistant program director in 1958, program director in 1960, and research scientist in 1973. In 1963, he received a joint appointment to associate professor of psychology. He was promoted to professor of psychology in 1967.

Professor Tannenbaum has taught large numbers of undergraduates and numerous doctoral candidates with notable success, helping to introduce the discipline of organizational psychology. Professor Tannenbaum's research, while varied in nature, persistently has followed two main themes. One concerns the nature of power and control in formal organizations and the consequences of alternative forms and distributions of control. The second concerns hierarchy, and the understanding of how alternative forms and degrees of hierarchy impact upon the members of organizations and on the effectiveness of organizations. A notable feature of his research has been the pursuit of cross-national and cross-cultural variations in the phenomena of control and hierarchy. His studies in a dozen nations have been carried out through the formation of networks of collaborating scholars representing several countries. The numerous resulting publications stand as classics in collaborative research and in the development of theories of formal organization.

Original, productive, known and respected internationally, Professor Tannenbaum represents a very substantial research talent. His honors include the Fulbright Fellowship, the Maxwell Fellowship in Social and Political Psychology, and the German Marshall Fund Fellowship. The Regents now salute this distinguished social scientist and teacher by naming Arnold S. Tannenbaum Research Scientist Emeritus and Professor Emeritus of Psychology.