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E-mails flooded Stephen McDaniel's inbox on Tuesday after news spread that Jeffrey Conant, a Texas A&M University department head and marketing professor, had died.
Conant died early Tuesday at St. Joseph Regional Health Center in Bryan after contracting an infection that led to pneumonia. He was 54.
On Friday, Conant informed his friends and colleagues through an e-mail that he had been undergoing chemotherapy for leukemia. That message was positive, McDaniel said, and Conant seemed upbeat about his prognosis.
McDaniel, a longtime A&M faculty member and friend of Conant's, said a number of former students at the Mays Business School had asked about Conant.
"So many of them now that are in very responsible positions with companies are saying it's really because of him that they were pushed to the extent that they needed to be in order to be as successful as they are now," he said.
Conant joined the A&M faculty in 1986 and was a professor of marketing, a presidential professor for teaching excellence and an Eppright University Professor in Undergraduate Teaching Excellence in the Mays Business School. He took over the leadership of the department of marketing in 2006.
"There's just no better example of a Christian man than Jeff," McDaniel said.
Conant received the Journal of Marketing Education's Outstanding Article of the Year Award three times, as well as the Best Article Award from the Marketing Education Review. He was the recipient of two distinguished achievement awards in teaching from the university's Association of Former Students, as well as the Piper Professor Award and the Great Teachers in Marketing Award from the Academy of Marketing Science.
Conant received a bachelor of arts degree from New York University, a master's of business administration from the University of Arizona and his Ph.D. from Arizona State University.
Jerry Strawser, dean of the Mays Business School, said Conant cared deeply for his students and colleagues.
Conant played a major role in the development of the university's Center for Teaching Excellence, which supports professional development in the area of teaching for faculty and graduate students, Strawser said.
"You just cannot replace a person like Jeff, and all our thoughts at the school are with his family," Strawser said.
Assistant Department Head Janet Parish said Conant was a fabulous leader and an excellent teacher.
"He did great things for our department on so many different levels," Parish said.
One of his greatest strengths and one of his many passions was his ability to recognize people's skills and help them develop professionally, she said.
"There are many students -- undergraduate, graduates and doctoral-level students -- that are mourning his loss today as well as many, many colleagues," she said. "This was a very, very unexpected lost."
Conant is survived by his wife, Carol, and three children, Danielle, Scottie and Trevor.
Private graveside services are set for Friday at College Station Cemetery, followed by a noon memorial service at First United Methodist Church in Bryan. The memorial service is open to the public.
McDaniel said the testimonials flooding in from students only confirmed what he already knew: Conant had a huge impact on those he worked for and with.
"He's been a good friend, and I can honestly say that I've never met a kinder, more decent person in my life," McDaniel said.
