Gary S. Metcalf (born 1957) is an American systems scientist,

organizational theorist Organizational theory refers to the set of interrelated concepts that involve the sociological study of the structures and operations of formal social organizations. Organizational theory also attempts to explain how interrelated units of organiz ...

management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...

, and university professor. He has served as president of the

International Federation for Systems Research The International Federation for Systems Research (IFSR) is an international federation for global and local societies in the field of systems science. This federation is a non-profit, scientific and educational agency founded in 1980, and constitu ...

2010-2014.

Biography

Raised in

Oviedo, Florida Oviedo ( ) is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 33,342, representing an increase of 7,026 (26.7%) from the 26,316 counted in the 2000 Census. It is part of the Orlando– ...

Metcalf received a B.S. in

Education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

in 1981 from the

North Texas State University The University of North Texas (UNT) is a Public university, public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private Normal school, teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 y ...

, an M.S.S.W. in Social Work in 1985 from the

University of Texas at Arlington The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA or UT Arlington) is a public research university in Arlington, Texas. The university was founded in 1895 and was in the Texas A&M University System for several decades until joining the University of ...

, and a Ph.D. in

Human Science Human science (or human sciences in the plural), also known as humanistic social science and moral science (or moral sciences), studies the philosophical, biological, social, and cultural aspects of human life. Human science aims to expand our u ...

in 2000 at the

Saybrook Graduate School Saybrook University is a private university in Pasadena, California. It was founded in 1971 by Eleanor Camp Criswell and others. It offers postgraduate education with a focus on humanistic psychology. It features low residency, master's, and ...

. This doctoral research was conducted under the mentorship of

Béla H. Bánáthy Béla Heinrich Bánáthy ( hu, Bánáthy Béla; December 1, 1919 – September 4, 2003) was a Hungarian-American linguist, and Professor at San Jose State University and UC Berkeley. He is known as founder of the White Stag Leadership Developme ...

, focused on Social Systems Design and Organizational Development. Metcalf began his professional career as a systems-oriented

family therapist Family therapy (also referred to as family counseling, family systems therapy, marriage and family therapy, couple and family therapy) is a branch of psychology and clinical social work that works with families and couples in intimate relationsh ...

, working with teenagers and their families in short-term residential facilities. Between 1987 and 1989, Metcalf was the manager of Employee Assistance Programs at

Tandy Corporation Tandy Corporation was an American family-owned leather goods company based in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. Tandy Leather was founded in 1919 as a leather supply store. By the end of the 1950s, under the tutelage of then-CEO Charles Tandy, ...

. From 1989 to 1998, Metcalf was a manager at

Ashland Inc. Ashland Global Specialty Chemicals Inc. is an American chemical company which operates in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, the company traces its roots back to the city of Ashland, Kentucky, where it was headquarter ...

, designing and implementing an Employee Assistant Program and leading a team to promote corporate-wide health programs. And in 1998 he founded InterConnections, LLC an organizational consulting firm based in

Ashland, Kentucky Ashland is a home rule-class city in Boyd County, Kentucky, United States. The largest city in Boyd County, Ashland is located upon a southern bank of the Ohio River at the state border with Ohio and near West Virginia. The population was 21,6 ...

. From 2003 to 2018, Gary Metcalf was on the teaching faculty of Saybrook University, as graduate instructor in Organizational Systems, and Research. Between 2004 and 2009, he was an instructor in the Federal Executive Institute, Office of Personnel Management, US Federal Government. From 2005 to 2009, he taught in the Bhavan Marshall MBA Program in Bangalore, India. And since 2011, Metcalf has been a Distinguished Lecturer at Sullivan University, in the PhD in Management program. And since 2011, he has been visiting faculty at

Aalto University Aalto University ( fi, Aalto-yliopisto; sv, Aalto-universitetet) is a public research university located in Espoo, Finland. It was established in 2010 as a merger of three major Finnish universities: the Helsinki University of Technology, the ...

, teaching courses in systems thinking in the Master's Programme in Creative Sustainability. Gary Metcalf is a past president for the

International Society for the Systems Sciences The International Society for the Systems Sciences (ISSS) is a worldwide organization for systems sciences. The overall purpose of the ISSS is: :"to promote the development of conceptual frameworks based on general system theory, as well as their ...

(2007–2008). In this role, he led the ISSS 2008 meeting at

University of Wisconsin-Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

. From this meeting, he edited the General Systems Research, published as Systems Research and Behavioral Science volume 26, issue 5. Metcalf served as president of the

from 2010 to 2016. Previously, he served in the role of Vice President on the Executive Committee of the IFSR from 2002. He resides in

Publications

Gary Metcalf is author and coauthor of several books and articles. A selection: * 1985. ''An Evaluation of Family Therapy at a Runaway Shelter''. University of Texas at Arlington, 1985. * 2001. ''The management of people in mergers and acquisitions''. With Teresa A. Daniel. Westport, Conn. : Quorum Books. ;Articles and papers * 1999. "A Critique of Social Systems Theory". In M. L. W. Hall & J. Wilby (Eds.), ''Humanity, Science, Technology: The Systemic Foundations of the Information Age''. From the 43rd Annual Conference of the International Society for the Systems Sciences, Presented at the ISSS conference in Asilomar, CA, June 1999 * 2002.
Rigor and relevance in systems work
Isss journal 2002. * 2003. "Learning to Design Systems". In: ''World Futures: Journal of General Evolution'', Vol 59(1), 21-36 * 2003.
Dialogue and Ecological Engineering in Social Systems Design
. In: ''Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the ISSS, Proceedings of the 52nd Annual Meeting of the ISSS''. * 2003.
Right choices in a complex world
paper LLC InterConnections at systemicbusiness.org * 2005.
The Science of Motivation
. With Dr. Teresa A. Daniel. * 2004.
Implements and images: The making of social systems
paper LLC InterConnections at systemicbusiness.org * 2005.
The Fundamentals of Employee Recognition
, With T.A. Daniel. Society for Human Resource Management white paper. * 2010.
John Bowlby - Rediscovering a systems scientist
".

References

External links

*
"Rigor and Relevance in Systems Work"
ISSS presentation Tokyo 2007 by Gary Metcalf. {{DEFAULTSORT:Metcalf, Gary 1957 births American business theorists American management consultants Living people American systems scientists University of North Texas alumni University of Texas at Arlington alumni People from Oviedo, Florida Presidents of the International Society for the Systems Sciences