Cash loved learning, so after graduating from TCU, he went on to earn a master’s in computer science and a PhD in management information systems and accounting, both from Purdue University.

His passion for education led him to employment at the nation’s oldest university, Harvard, where he joined the business school faculty in 1976.

Clemmie Cash said she wasn’t a fan of the idea of moving across the country. “I wanted to stay and raise my kids in Texas, and oh boy, going to some place where it’s cold and snowy, that was not my first choice,” she said. “But he saw the value, and I went along and supported it.

“I love the expression ‘You play the hand that life deals you,’ and you don’t often know what an opportunity means,” she said. “If you take the challenge and you just give it the best you got and you play that hand as best as you can, then you cannot know what your rewards will be.”

The pair has now been married for 52 years.

Cash taught in every business program Harvard offered: MBA, management development, global leadership and advanced management. In 1985, he became the business school’s first Black tenured professor. He served as chair of the MBA program from 1992 to 1995 and senior associate dean and chair of Harvard Business School Publishing from 1998 to 2003. He now holds the title of James E. Robison Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus.

In 2020, one of the original buildings of the Harvard Business School was renamed in his honor. The Cash House now is home to the school’s office of diversity, equity and inclusion and executive education program staff, as well as a painting of Cash that is part of the school’s art collection.

“True to his humble nature, Jim will not broadcast the many ways he makes a difference to individuals and institutions,” said Angela Crispi, Harvard Business School’s executive dean for administration, in the school’s announcement of the honor. “More than anyone else I know, Jim genuinely believes in helping others realize their full potential.”

Cash has been a strong contributor to academia with over 70 publications in books, journals, presentations, business cases and other teaching materials.

Outside of the university scene, Cash served on the boards of too many organizations to count. Past board positions include Walmart, General Electric, Knight Ridder and Microsoft.

“Normally, I don’t remain on a board too long — there have been too many for me to do that,” Cash said. He has a self-imposed board service limit of 10 years. “I always accept [positions] because in many instances it’s the first time a Black person has ever sat on that board, and it establishes a precedent that others can follow. Whether it’s token or whether it’s well intended, you take it and you turn it into something that permits you to serve others.”

Currently he runs the Cash Catalyst, which provides development programs for executives interested in the intersection of technology and business strategy. He is also part of the ownership group for the Boston Celtics and an adviser for Grain Management and General Catalyst.

Share this Story