HOW TO REALLY
By the time Louis Stern ’53 met his future wife, Rhona, in the mid-1980s, he had already compiled an impressive list of academic and professional accomplishments. An esteemed professor of marketing at Northwestern University’s world-renowned Kellogg School of Management and the author of numerous books and articles, he had a B.A. in economics from Harvard, an M.B.A. from the Wharton Graduate Division at the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. from Northwestern. But still possessing the distinctive Boston ac-
version.” Finally, Louis asked if he could call Rhona by the nickname Ronald; she said yes, and the two have now been married for 34 years. “We’ve had an absolutely glorious life together,” says Louis, who as a business thought-leader was frequently invited to give talks around the world. Rhona, an artist specializing in abstract minimalist paintings, would accompany him “from Hong Kong, to Singapore, to Paris, to London, you name it.” Louis retired from teaching in 2001, but he remains the Kellogg School’s John
Marketing legend Louis Stern says Williston gave him a chance in life. He and his wife, Rhona, are now saying thank you in a personal way.—BY JONATHAN ADOLPH
cent of his Brookline, Massachusetts, childhood—a regional patois marked by a complicated relationship with the letter R—there was one test he says he simply could not pass. “I couldn’t pronounce her name,” he recalls. “I tried desperately. I would always come up with something like Roner or some bastardized
D. Gray Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Marketing. Rhona continues to paint, and the couple now divide their time between Evanston, Illinois, and Tucson, Arizona. “It has been a very rich life,” Louis says. “I often think to myself, little Louie from Brookline, Massachusetts. I had no idea what would hap-
38 WILLISTON NORTHAMPTON SCHOOL
pen to me in my career, but it was beyond my wildest expectations.” What set him on that path, he says, was Williston, where he was sent by his parents, then in the midst of a difficult divorce. The school’s close-knit community, supportive teachers, and opportunities to explore new activities proved to be just what the Brookline eighth grader needed. “It gave me an environment in which I would succeed,” he explains. “I got a chance to be an editor on the yearbook, an editor on the newspaper, chairman of the honor committee, all of these things that I probably never would have come close to getting if I had been at Brookline High School.” His masters, as the teachers were then called, had a particularly formative impact, he says. “The teachers just take an interest in you,” he recalls. “You became an important person to them. I felt like Headmaster Phil Stevens knew me and cared about me. The attention that I got was exceedingly important.” In his own career as an educator, Louis had a similar impact. Among his numerous awards are many that reflect the appreciation of his students and peers: Outstanding Professor of the Year (voted by his Kellogg students), Alumni Choice
Faculty Award, American Marketing Association/Irwin Distinguished Marketing Educator Award (one of his field’s highest honors), one of the 12 best teachers in U.S. business schools named by BusinessWeek, and the inaugural recipient of Kellogg’s Special Lifetime Achievement Award for Teaching Excellence in 1999. That same year, Louis’ family, friends, former students, and clients raised funds to name a classroom at the school in his honor. In recognition of the importance of Williston in Louis’s life, the couple have made a generous monetary gift to the school, accompanied by a more personal contribution: Rhona Stern’s abstract painting, titled Isle Azure, which now hangs in Williston’s newest dormitory, the Emily McFadon Vincent House. For Rhona, knowing that her artwork is on display at Williston “really means something to me,” she says. “I’ve heard all the stories over many years about Louis and his experiences there. I feel very honored.” After his retirement, Louis’ connection to Williston grew even stronger. In addition to his financial support over the years, he served on the Board of Trustees from 2005 through 2010, where he shared his marketing insights into how the
PHOTOGRAPH BY MATT HAAS
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