Arthur Dietz, 84, ran, set up MBA at Emory

From the mid-1950s through the early 1980s, no one was more closely identified with Emory University’s Master’s of Business Administration program than Arthur Dietz.

He founded the MBA program in 1954. And in the beginning, he did it all: recruiting, planning the curriculum, placing graduates.

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Arthur Dietz founded the Emory University Master of Business Administration in the mid-1950s and ran it till the 1980s.

“He was Mr. Business School for 25 years,” said Jim Rosenfeld, associate professor of finance at the Goizueta Business School at Emory.

“In the early years, he did everything himself. He was a one-man MBA program. He started the school from basically nothing and took us through the first phase up to the 1980s,” said Dr. Rosenfeld, who was hired by Dr. Dietz in 1983.

Dr. Dietz, 84, of Chamblee, died Wednesday at Hospice Atlanta after falling and breaking his hip. The funeral will be at 3 p.m. Monday at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Emory campus. A.S. Turner & Sons is in charge of arrangements.

A native of Westchester County, N.Y., Dr. Dietz interrupted his studies at Wesleyan University to join the

U.S. Army during World War II. He fought in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

After the war, he finished his undergraduate degree and earned a master’s degree and doctorate at Princeton University. He taught at Wesleyan, Princeton and Amherst College before being recruited to start Emory’s MBA program. He became a full professor at Emory at age 35.

As a teacher, Dr. Dietz “was always very challenging,” said Frank Tangren of Atlanta, who was Dr. Dietz’s student in the early 1970s and later became a friend and tennis partner.

“He would state what would appear to be the obvious side of a situation and lead you to one conclusion, then show you the other side of the coin,” Mr. Tangren said.

In an Emory biography, Dr. Dietz said he had many outstanding students during the years. He cited three who achieved great success: Jean Mori, founder of Mori Luggage and Gifts, who earned his MBA in 1963; John Spiegel, who got his MBA in 1965 and went on to become chief financial officer of SunTrust; and Charles Jenkins, an MBA grad from the same year who became chairman of Publix.

Dr. Dietz went on to become chairman of the Finance Department at Emory and retired in 1988 as a professor of finance and banking. In retirement, he co-founded Strategic Portfolio Management, which managed investment portfolios for individuals.

Dr. Dietz also frequently served as an expert witness in civil suits involving deaths and injuries, said his daughter, Laura Burke of Tucker. He would testify on a person’s monetary value to the family, such as lost wages, she said.

When he wasn’t working, Dr. Dietz often could be found on a tennis court. He played regularly until he was 81.

“He loved it. It was his thing,” his daughter said.

Other survivors are his wife, Margie Lee Dietz of Chamblee; daughters Amelia Dietz of Tucker and Adele Dietz of Manchester, Conn.; four grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.