John Freeman, a professor at the Haas School of Business, died of a sudden heart attack Monday night, leaving behind colleagues and students who called him an influential leader in entrepreneurship. He was 63.

Freeman, a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation, started teaching at Haas in 1975 and later taught at Cornell University for eight years before returning to Haas in 1993.

Haas Dean Tom Campbell said Freeman, who he has known for 20 years, was invested in the school's entrepreneurship center and in his students.

"He chose to be ... not simply a teacher, but a coach to students as they created their own businesses," Campbell said. "It's a very personal, hands-on kind of teaching, and he was the soul of it."

Freeman received his bachelor's degree in sociology from Washington and Lee University in 1966 and received his master's and doctoral degrees in sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Freeman was the founder and CEO of the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Laboratory, a resource center for the Haas community to develop young businesses. The lab, originally known as the Berkeley Business Incubator, was founded in 1997.

Before returning to Berkeley, Freeman became a major proponent of a new area of study called population ecology, which led him to develop an interest in entrepreneurship, said Jerry Engel, a professor and the executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, of which Freeman was the faculty director. The entrepreneurship curriculum he and Freeman developed at the school is known world-wide, Engel said.

"He was just very generous with his time, his perspective, his energy, and his spirit," Engel said.

Laura Kray, an associate professor and chair of the school's Organizational Behavior and Industrial Relations Group, said Freeman will be missed.

"He was an incredibly well-respected scholar, teacher and member of our community," she said.

This semester, Freeman was teaching a doctoral class called "Powers and Politics in Organizations," which Campbell visited yesterday to inform the students of the news.

He added that Cameron Anderson, an assistant professor at the school, has agreed to take over the class.

The news of Freeman's death circulated within the Haas community yesterday through an e-mail Campbell sent to students and faculty.

"His office was just two next from mine," said Waverly Ding, assistant professor of organizational behavior, who called Freeman her best mentor. "I was hoping that it was a mistake. I drove to the office hoping to see him."

Freeman leaves behind his wife, Dianne, five children, and 15 grandchildren, Ding said.

Details about plans for a memorial service will be relayed once they are finalized by the family, Campbell said.

Tags: HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, JOHN FREEMAN