Flags at Harvard Business School were at half mast last weekend in honor of Richard Franklin Vancil, a professor on leave from Harvard Business School (HBS), who died last week at Madison Home in Madison, Conn. He was 64.

An expert in accounting and man-again the process of CEO succession as well as the founder of The MAC Group, a managerial consulting firm, Vancil had been suffering from Alzheimer's disease for almost a decade.

"Dick Vancil was that rare combination of an inspiring teacher, an academic who made important contributions to management theory and a practical businessman who started and grew a company that became a leader in its industry," said HBS Professor Emeritus Robert N. Anthony in a statement issues by the Business School last week.

Vancil began his career at the Business School in 1958, eventually focusing on long-range business and management practices as his primary field of interest.

He was the author, coauthor or editor of more than 20 books and monographs as well as numerous articles in professional publications.

One of his best known works was the 1987 book Passing the Baton, which was based on the accounts of 27 CEOs and an analysis of 227 large corporations between 1960 and 1984.

Born in St. Louis, Mo. on September 17, 1937, Vancil graduate with a B.S. in accounting in 1953 from Northwestern University.

He earned his MBA from Harvard in 1955 as a Baker Scholar, the school's highest scholastic honor.

After serving for three years in the Army Finance Corps, Vancil became an instructor at the school in 1958 and became full professor there: in 1968. He was named Lovett-Leaned Professor Business Administration in 1977.

Vancil maintained residences in both Belmont, Mass, and Madison, Conn. He is survived by his wife, the former Emily Robinsonl; his mother, Pearl Campbell and stepfather, Clyde Campbell of Columbia, S.C.; a daughter, Virginia Wilkins of Madison, Conn; two sons, Robinson of Madison, Conn. and Richard of Wayland, Mass.; two sisters, Joan Underwood of Columbia, S.C. and Mary Lynn Musgrove of Columbus, Ohio; a stepbrother, George Campbell of Levonia, Mich.; and five grandchildren.

Burial will be private. A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Contributions in Professor Vancil's memory may be made to any charity involved with Alzheimer's disease