Remembering Joan Bailar: Former Lake Forest Board Chair and Faculty Member

Joan Bailar, former Lake Forest Graduate School of Business Board Chair and faculty member, passed away at home on July 29 after a long illness. The news was announced in a press release on the LFGSM website.

Bailar served on the LFGSM Board of Directors from 2006-2014, as Board Chair from 2009-2013, and was awarded the Distinguished Director Award in November 2013 for her outstanding leadership of the Board and her passion for education. While on the Board she served as Chair of the Degree Programs, Human Resources & Compensation and the Executive Committees.

As a member of LFGSM’s faculty, Bailar taught courses in Organizational Change, Introduction to Strategy and Strategic Thinking. She taught at the Lake Forest campus, Schaumburg and Chicago locations, as well as the Allstate and BlueCross BlueShield onsite programs.

Bailar founded the Richard and Joan Syer Scholarship at LFGSM in 1997 in memory of her late husband, Richard Syer, who also was a long-time faculty member of the Graduate School. The scholarship supports current students who run into emergency financial situations – unemployment, a reduction in tuition reimbursement, or other unexpected financial difficulties during the school year — and who provide more than 50 percent of their own education expenses.

According to the press release, “Joan was a great lady, an exceptional business leader, beloved by all who knew her, and a devoted friend and champion of the Graduate School.”

regions: Chicago

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