Michael Cox (1952-2006)

Dr. Michael Cox received his BS and MS degrees and his CPA certificate from Illinois State University and his PhD in Accounting from Oklahoma State University. While in college, he designed his personal curriculum around his desire to be a teaching tennis professional. He took courses in Physical Therapy, Business and Psychology to round out his education and future career when tennis was a relatively unknown sport.  His tennis instruction supported him while he earned his PhD. Thereafter, he taught for seven years at the University of Arkansas and Sam Houston State University.

Michael was a leader in business and technology and a true innovator. After teaching Accounting for a number of years, Michael felt the need to bring actual real-world business experience into his classroom. In 1986, he started a one-person, part-time business that would eventually grow into three nationally recognized companies that provided consulting and training for such well-known companies as AT&T, American Airlines Exxon, FedEx, Kodak, Lockheed, Lucent Technologies, Nissan and Walt Disney.

Ten years later, he founded Rushmore University. He was one of the first to recognize the potential of distance learning via the Internet. Today, Rushmore employs an outstanding team of Professors and provides graduate-level business education to students in over 80 countries.

Michael is survived by his wife, Iola Turner Cox; three sons, Christopher Ryan, Caleb Reagan and Joshua Michael; and three siblings, John, Douglas and Leslie. Iola Cox chairs the Board of Governors of Rushmore University.

Michael had a wonderfully, diverse and exciting life.  Besides his rich and fulfilling marriage to Iola, he enjoyed immensely raising his sons.  Mike and Iola schooled their children at home and took great pride in their education.  They traveled the world to study history and geography first hand.  When they wanted to teach their children about the Panama Canal, they visited Panama.  When they studied the American Revolution, they visited Boston and toured the historic sites. 

Michael and Iola had the opportunity to live in many varied locations around the world.  They spent time in New Zealand and explored the Pacific Rim.  They lived for four years in Vancouver, Canada and explored the Pacific Northwest.  They were planning to reside in Cambridge, England and explore Europe until Michael’s illness forced a change in plans.

Michael and Iola shared a deep faith with their children.  Active in the First Baptist Church of Winter Park, Florida, their fellow members were a rock of support during his illness.  Michael’s wish for his sons was “to be faithful to God and follow the call he puts before your path, to serve others rather than yourself and to make yourselves available to be a minister as a witness of Jesus Christ and his love in your life.”  Michael will long be remembered as a loving husband and father, a visionary in business and a pioneer in distance learning.

Philip Crosby (1926-2001)

Quality and Me

Phil Crosby was known as the “Fun Uncle” of the “Quality Revolution.” Whereas W. Edwards Deming and Joseph Juran were the great brains of the movement, Phil Crosby excelled in finding terminology for quality that mere mortals could understand. His books were easy to read and people read them. He popularized the idea of “cost-poor quality”, i.e., figuring out how much it really cost to do things badly. 
 
Philip Crosby was born in West Virginia. After serving in World War II and the Korean War, he worked for Crosley, Martin-Marietta and ITT, where he was a Vice President for 14 years. In 1979, he founded Philip Crosby Associates, a management consulting firm that served hundreds of companies. After his retirement in 1991, he continued to be active, founding Career IV, Philip Crosby Associates II and the Quality College. His legacy will live on in better quality for thousands of organizations.

Professor Crosby’s ideas came from his experiences on the assembly line. He focused on zero defects and was quick to point out that zero defects were not something that originated on the assembly line. To create a manufacturing process that had zero defects, management had to set the tone and atmosphere for its employees to follow. If management did not set a system where zero defects were clearly the objective, then employees were not to blame when things went astray and defects occurred. The benefit for companies that used such a system was a dramatic decrease in wasted resources and time spent producing goods that consumers did not want.
	The Absolutes of Leadership
Professor Crosby authored 15 books. He advocated the four absolutes of Quality Management: (1) quality is defined as conformance to requirements, not goodness or elegance; (2) the system for causing quality is prevention, not appraisal; (3) the performance standard must be zero defects; and (4) the measurement of quality is the price of nonconformance.
	Quality without Tears
Philip Crosby was one of the first two Professors at Rushmore University. Our students continue to learn from him today through courses based on his books, as well as thought his Quality College courses and self-study materials. These latter offerings are available from Philip Crosby Associates II, the Orlando-based international quality management consulting firm that he founded.
	Quality is Free

Louis "Deke" Heyward (1920-2002)

Deke Heyward was a Rushmore Professor until his death in 2002. He attended Brooklyn Law School and New York University, after which he joined the US Air Force, from which he retired as a flying officer with numerous decorations, including two Presidential Unit Citations and the Air Medal.

Thereafter, Professor Heyward was a consultant to the Chairman and CEO of DIC Entertainment, one of the largest distributors and manufacturers of children's television entertainment in the world. He was in the cartoon business with Hanna-Barbara, serving as Senior Vice President and Special Assistant to the President. He lived in England, where he was head of Motion Picture Development and Production for American International Productions, one of the largest independent motion picture production companies in the world. He was also the Managing Director of AIP England, overseeing ancillary companies in Germany, Italy, France and Scandinavia. He was also Vice President in charge of development for Barry and Enright.

Professor Heyward produced or wrote over 50 motion pictures, 3000 shows and numerous radio programs, receiving numerous professional awards. He also wrote novels for Random House and Penguin Books that have been translated into 14 languages. He thoroughly enjoyed working with all his students, especially in Japan and Switzerland. He is greatly missed.

Saul Gellerman (deceased 2003) Saul Gellerman was a Rushmore Professor from 2001 until his death in 2003. He held a BA and a MA in Psychology from the University of Missouri and earned his PhD from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1956. He wrote over a dozen articles, including several for the Harvard Business Review. He also produced 29 films, each from 20 to 30 minutes in length, featuring interviews with leading behavioral scientists on management-related topics.
	How People Work
Professor Gellerman’s books include How People Work and Motivation in the Real World: The Fine Art of Getting Extra Effort from Everyone - Including Yourself. Rushmore students continue to learn from him via courses based on these books.
	Motivation in the Real World

Philip Wright (deceased 2008)

Professor Wright worked in 12 countries in North America, Europe and Asia. With a PhD from Penn State University, he taught in ten MBA programs, among them Canadian, Australian, British, American, Czech, Chinese (Hong Kong) and Indonesian. He was the author of six books and more than 175 published papers. Formally a Full Professor at the University of New Brunswick in Canada, he also served as Professor and Head of Business Administration at Shue Yan University in Hong Kong.

Professor Wright was a high school dropout, who worked in the mining industry and the factory before returning to school. He also had experience in government, industrial training, college teaching and consulting and had private business interests throughout Asia.

He believed: “You can’t teach business unless you are in business!” His greatest life achievements include marrying his beautiful Beverly and “making it” in the Asian economy. Students found that he demanded a lot, but gave a lot in return. After spending more than 15 years as a “night school” student, he understood the needs and the dreams of others. Professor Philip Wright was Canadian but lived permanently in Asia, with homes in Hong Kong and in the Philippines.

   Dr. Tom Lambert, Professor of Marketing (deceased 2009)