Dr. Mitrabarun “MB” Sarkar, a renowned educator and researcher at Temple University’s Fox School of Business whose pedagogical work garnered national, international, and university awards, died June 7, 2016. He was 54 years of age.

Sarkar, who joined the Fox School faculty in 2008, was the H.F. “Gerry” Lenfest Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation within the Strategic Management department at Fox. He also had served as a visiting professor of strategy at the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

“MB was an innovator at every stage of his career,” said Dr. M. Moshe Porat, Dean of the Fox School of Business. “His passion for teaching and empowering students, and his thirst for knowledge were tremendous. MB’s passing brings great sadness to our Temple and Fox communities. My thoughts and prayers at this time are with his wife, their two daughters, and his family and close friends.”

In 2013, Sarkar received Temple University’s Great Teacher Award, the highest honor conferred by the university on faculty. On seven occasions, he was named Outstanding Professor of the Year in Fox’s Global, Executive, Online, and Part-Time MBA programs. Sarkar also was a five-time recipient of Fox’s Crystal Teaching Award. Last November, he received the Musser Award for Excellence in Teaching, which recognizes a Fox School faculty member who challenges students to think imaginatively and creatively.

Sarkar was the founding Academic Director of Fox’s Global Immersion Program in Emerging Markets, and led the initiative of building partnerships and experiential programs for Fox MBA students in several countries, such as Chile, China, Colombia, Ghana, India, Israel, Morocco, South Africa, and Turkey.

His internationally recognized research on innovation, industry emergence, and technology entrepreneurship was published in several premier scientific journals. He served on the editorial review boards of several leading journals in the field of strategic management, and as associate editor at the Strategic Entrepreneurship Journal. In 2004, he received the Best Paper Award from the Academy of Management Journal, in addition to research-related awards from the Academy of Marketing Sciences and the American Marketing Association.

Sarkar earned his Bachelor’s degree in Economics from St. Stephen’s College in New Delhi, India; an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, in Ahmedabad, India; and a PhD from Michigan State University.

He is survived by his wife, Tanu, and their daughters, Mohenna, who lives and works in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Aeshna, who attends Tulane University.

The Fox School has established a new faculty award in Dr. Sarkar’s memory.  Gifts to the MB Sarkar Award for Teaching Excellence can be given here.