Steve had already retired when I first joined UMD in 2003 as an assistant professor. But, for the last 14 years, Steve has been such a wonderful, warm, nice, and supportive colleagues to me. I often stopped by my office and asked me about my research and my life. I will certainly miss him but his warmth may stay with me throughout my life at UMD.

Steve was the ultimate scholar and gentleman. He was a great colleague, always respectful and kind. He took the time to get to know the new faculty regardless of whether they were in his department or not. It was always great to see his welcoming smile and hear his warm greetings every time you would pass him in the hallways. He was a devout Maryland fan, and cared deeply about the institution. Steve was a great role model for the younger faculty as we became part of the Smith School family, setting the standard for what it means to be a scholar, teacher, and citizen. We will all miss him.

Steve was instrumental in bringing me to UMaryland and I will forever feel grateful and fortunate. Marty Gannon and Ed Locke were also part of the welcoming group. As there were few women on the business school faculty at the time, there was much humor about who would open the door for whom and who would make coffee when, etc. I certainly felt supported, which was fairly rare at the time.

Steve had been doing some great research with Black and Decker, McCormick and others. He was publishing this work in top journals. So junior faculty had some great footsteps to follow, but also some pretty big shoes to try to emulate. Steve was always willing to talk about research, read papers, offer ideas, etc. He continued to work on research after he “retired” from his faculty position and became Professor Emeritus. We were overjoyed when he was chosen for the Heneman Award for Lifetime Scholarly Research in Human Resource Management from the Academy of Management in 2010. It was so well deserved!

Steve was a go-to person if you had a problem. You could count on a sympathetic ear and an effort to help. He was a lot of fun, too. For years, my husband and I have had Maryland football seats next to Steve and his family (of course, excellent seats obtained with Steve’s help). In the Xfinity Center, our basketball seats were in the same vicinity as Steve’s as well. Steve was a consummate fan of all things UMaryland, including sports. 

He had great stories to tell related to his many travels as a visiting faculty member, especially to Japan, Taiwan, and Ireland. He was a true Renaissance scholar.

I will be forever grateful to have known Steve and for his many positive influences on my life.

Steve was one of the prime originators of the collegial, supportive, and highly research-oriented climate that we enjoy in the Management and Organization department. He was a great scholar, teacher, and colleague. He leaves behind an amazing legacy that we in M&O have the privilege and challenge to continue to carry forward. He will certainly be missed.

I came to know Steve when I joined the UMD faculty in 1986. My family and I had many meals together with Steve and Donna. We cherished them. Steve had a very kind soul and was always very generous. He and I also coauthored a paper (along with one of our PhD students). I'll miss his company, his laugh, and his generosity. May he rest in peace....Anil Gupta

R.I.P. to my uncle Steve, I will miss his wonderful stories of of the places that he'd been. He was a master storyteller in the Irish tradition with a sharp wit. He would put you right there in the story. He was a great uncle to have throughout my life and my life was richer for it. His honesty and integrity set a high bar on the conduct of his life. The world will miss him.   Bill Carroll

Our son Scott Kinney married Alisa (with Steve’s blessing) 25 years ago and thus, we were the benefactors of getting to know Steve and Donna.  We loved getting together with them for family events when we soon learned that Steve could speak about any topic in the world and, at great length. He was brilliant we learned and humble as well. He had an eagerness about him to teach, to share his knowledge. We loved those get-togethers filled with talk of this and that and always, lots of laughter. Steve was a beloved father to Alisa and Chris, the ultimate father-in-law to Scott and Hilary, fun loving granddad to Paige, Andie, and Andrew, loving husband to Donna, and wonderful friend to us.  We miss him already and we send love and prayers to his precious family. Love, Pat and Brian

I (as well as Sally & Tyler) will forever remember and cherish the memories of Uncle Steven (and Aunt Donna's) welcoming and generous hospitality, and their interesting, educational, fun, meaningful, uplifting, reassuring & inspiring discussions,visiting museums & tourist sites, and building a personally enriching and rewarding life-long connection with him.

Throughout the years, I was very fortunate to have spent some precious quality time with Uncle Steven, Dinners at Grammy Helene's house whenever Uncle Steven came to visit, attending trade shows in the DC / VA area for a former company several years ago, visiting MD / VA while on vacation, etc.

To me, Uncle Steven's legacy is best portrayed in the 1st stanza of an Emily Dickinson Poem:

"Because I could not stop for Death – He kindly stopped for me – The Carriage held but just Ourselves – And Immortality."

As for me, and I am sure, for all that knew Steven, he leaves us fond memories of joy, hope and inspiration, that we will all treasure for the rest of out lives!

Kevin Carroll

My contact with my uncle had been sparse over the years but I do remember the one time I got to speak to him extensively was after the funeral of his mother Helene in 2008. He and I went out to an Irish place just down the street from Helene’s home for breakfast before I had to fly back to Arizona and spent a few hours with him. I was amazed at his intellect, experiences, wisdom and how much his former students loved and admired him. May he rest in peace.
John Carroll