Joan Pinck, a former lecturer and assistant dean at Harvard Business School, died on March 10 after a long illness. She was 89 years old.
Pinck was a native of Lowell, Massachusetts, and graduated from Radcliffe College in 1950, where she majored in English literature and was elected student body president. She began her career teaching high school at the Madeira School in Greenway, Virginia, Belmont High School in Massachusetts, and at Dana Hall, a preparatory high school for girls in Wellesley, Massachusetts. She later would become dean of students at Pine Manor College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Pinck then became one of the first woman administrators at Harvard Business School, where she also taught a course on business writing. Later, she served as director of research administration and policy at Beth Israel Hospital, a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. She also served as assistant secretary of education for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts under Governor Michael Dukakis.
Throughout her long career, Pinck was a strong advocate for women’s rights and equal opportunity.