A memorial service was held yesterday afternoon for Arch Richard Dooley, a retired Harvard Business School (HBS) professor who died Monday at the Massachusetts General Hospital of complications from cancer. He was 72.

Approximately 100 former colleagues and members of the Harvard community gathered at Memorial Church yesterday to remember the popular and influential Dooley, who spent 37 years as an HBS faculty member and built the Technological Operations Management (TOM) program.

"Dick Dooley was a leader in the teaching of manufacturing management and a visionary in pioneering a HBS executive education program for entrepreneurs," said HBS Dean Kim B. Clark.

"His influence was felt far and wide through these efforts," he said.

Dooley was named HBS's first Phillips Professor of Manufacturing in 1969. In the same year, he created a unique nine-week program eventually known as the Owner/President Management Program, the predecessor of TOM.

Dooley's program was unique in its focus on executive management at a time when the rest of the business world focused on financial markets.

In addition, Dooley was a pioneer in advocating the study of ethics in a field that is often viewed as neglecting moral concerns.

"He was an early voice in making a role for business ethics," said Roy D. Shapiro, who is the current Phillips professor of manufacturing.

In 1993, Dooley was awarded HBS's greatest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, given annually to recognize service to both the school and the field of business education.

Reverend Judith B. Brain, who conducted the service with Dr. Eugene MacAfee, a summer minister at Memorial Church, remembered Dooley's desire to march to his own drummer.

"Dick dared everyone to dance with the maestro, rooting out the kernel among each of his students," Brain said.

Brain also emphasized Dooley's personal qualities including his great sense of humor and his ability to face adversity.

Dooley shared his business expertise with international business schools, working for over 26 such schools including the Instituto Panamerico de Alta Direction de Empresa (IPADE) in Mexico City.

"He had a deep sense of humanity against all odds," Brain said.

Dooley is survived by his wife, Patricia Folts, and two sons, Arch Richard Dooley Jr. of New York City and Christopher Folts Dooley of Littleton, Ma