It is with great sadness that I have to inform you of the passing of Prof Sieg Marx, a well-respected colleague and former Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. Prof Marx passed away on Monday morning, 25th of May, at the age of 81.

Prof Sieg Marx obtained all his degrees at the University of Pretoria, including his PhD in Business Economics in 1973.  He started his academic career at the University of Pretoria in 1966, as a lecturer in the Department of Business Economics (now Business Management).  In 1984 he took over the reins as Head of the Department of Business Economics.  He served in this capacity until his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences on 1 July 1991, where he served until 1995.  Prof Marx was appointed as Vice-Principal: University Management in 1996 and served the University in this capacity until his retirement on 30 April 2001.

Prof Sieg Marx was responsible for many firsts in the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. He was the first professor in Marketing at the University of Pretoria; he was co-author of the first textbook in Afrikaans on Marketing, Die taak van die Bemarkingsbestuurder; he was co-author of the first textbook in South Africa in the specialist area of product strategy, Bestuurstrategie en Produksiebesluite.

Under his leadership as Dean, he was responsible for the restructuring of the Faculty into different schools according to the similarities between the different disciplines, the institution of new departments and a number of new degrees.

He was a founding member of the South African Institute of Management Sciences (SAIMS). He was also instrumental in the establishment of the SA Journal for Economic and Management Sciences (SAJEMS), currently Scopus listed. This provided an opportunity for economic and management academics to publish their research findings. The first issue of the journal appeared in 1988.

In the early eighties, he conducted an extensive research project on the money-spending patterns of the students at the University of Pretoria.  The findings of this report were instrumental in the location of businesses in the Hatfield/Brooklyn business area and resulted in this area to be transformed into one of the growth points in the city of Pretoria.

Our sincerest condolences go to his wife, Hannatjie Marx, his daughter, Cecile Jansen van Rensburg, his two sons, Stefan and Zandré Marx and his six grandchildren.

A memorial service will be held on Thursday, 4 June at 11:00 at the Dutch Reformed Church, Monument Park. Should anyone wish to attend, please contact his daughter, Cecile Jansen van Rensburg ([email protected]) to confirm. 

Author Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences