Acclaimed marketing professor dies at 77

By Matthew Meyerhofer

Frederick M. Hoar, professor of marketing at Santa Clara, died Jan. 2 after fighting idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis for three years. He was 77.

While at Santa Clara, Hoar taught both graduate and undergraduate classes in the marketing department. He instructed branding and brand management courses, as well as a class on marketing lessons from Silicon Valley, a class he had created himself.

"Fred was a unique individual," said Michael Munson, Chair of the Marketing Department at Santa Clara. "He had a very special ability to take his experiences from the business PR world and translate these experiences into useful examples for the students so they could understand what would work and what wouldn't work"

According to Buford Barr, Professor of Marketing at Santa Clara, Hoar played an instrumental role in shaping the industry in Silicon Valley during his lifetime of experience in the public relations and communications business for technology-based industries. He worked for such companies as RCA, Fairchild Semiconductor, Apple Computer and Genentech.

Barr said working in the field wasn't all Hoar was good at.

"Fred was the one person who could come in and relate his life experiences and his business experience," Barr said. "Fred established the lessons from Silicon Valley, and he brought it in and was able to transfer it to the students in a motivating and exciting way."

Hoar's experience and his skill in relating it was particularly helpful to Santa Clara Students, Munson said. Hoar's lessons were, "particularly relevant because so many of our students want to stay and find work in Silicon Valley, or are already working in Silicon Valley if they are MBA students."

According to Munson, Hoar was one of the most sought after speakers for technology events in Silicon Valley for his "unique ability to translate his experiences into usable lessons for marketing people." He spoke at events organized by such groups as the Semiconductor Industry Association, the Software Development Forum, and the Commonwealth Club.

Barr added that Hoar was also able to enhance his presentations with his lively and entertaining sense of humor. "He was probably the best stand up comedian I've ever seen," Barr said.

"Fred was nationally recognized as an expert in PR and communications," Munson said. Hoar was named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential Public Relations People of the 20th Century" by "PR Week," a publication for the PR and communications industry.

According to Munson, Hoar was well-liked by students and faculty alike for his high energy, charisma, and compassion.

"The students will certainly miss Fred in the classroom," Munson said, "He was so highly personable and really cared. He cared about what he taught and he cared about how he taught it. He was highly energetic, right up to the end."

Barr said working with Hoar, either as a colleague or a student, was a positive experience.

"He's one of those people that I don't remember anyone saying anything negative about," Barr said, "He was not only smart and creative but he was charismatic and as far as the students were concerned, entertaining. He earned their respect almost immediately."

Last year Hoar received the Extra-Ordinary Faculty Award, the highest honor a faculty member can receive from the Leavey School of Business. Hoar always got very high ratings from his students, said Munson, who described him as "irreplaceable."

"He was very well liked and very well respected by the rest of the department," Munson said. "He was very willing to help students and other faculty."

Hoar was working on two books, each related to the different classes he taught at Santa Clara. At this point it is undecided whether any effort will be made to finish or publish those works.

Contact Matthew Meyerhofer at (408) 554-4546 or at mmeyerhofer@scu.edu.