October 28, 2004
Dr. Glenn Welsch,
Professor Emeritus of Accounting, Dies
| Funeral information Dr. Welsch's funeral took place Nov. 3, 2004. The family has said that memorial gifts may be sent to The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, GSB 5.175, Austin, TX 78712, to support the Deloitte & Touche/Glenn A. Welsch Endowed Scholarship for deserving undergraduates. |
Dr. Glenn Welsch, professor emeritus of accounting at The
University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business,
died Oct. 27.
Welsch completed his doctoral work in accounting at the
University in 1952 and served the institution as a professor
from 1952-1985. He earned the first professorship in accounting
that the University awarded. In 1989, he was inducted into the
Business School's Hall of Fame, the school's highest honor for
alumni and friends.
A past president of the American Accounting Association, member
of the Accounting Principles Board, author of leading textbooks
and winner of multiple teaching awards, "Dr. Welsch was one of
the giants of academic accounting," said Michael Granof, his
former co-author and colleague at the University.
"What's more he was as generous an academician as you'll ever
know," added Granof. "When he was a member of the Accounting
Principles Board, he invited each of the newer professors to
accompany him to a meeting of the Board—and he personally paid
all of the travel costs." He further endeared himself to
colleagues by taking personal actions to help them advance their
careers.
When Dr. Welsch retired, the department held a banquet in his
honor. "It was an immediately sell-out," recalls Granof. "Scores
of his past students came to pay tribute to him."
Granof described him as one of the leading scholars who "made
the University of Texas accounting department what it is today."
In honor of Dr. Welsch, the school reprints the
following article, written in 1999 upon Welsch's acceptance of
an Outstanding Educator Award from the Texas Exes.
Kudos to Dr. Glenn Welsch, Professor Emeritus of Accounting
Editor's note: This article first appeared in the Spring 1999
edition of Accounting Times, the alumni newsletters of the
McCombs School's Accounting Department.
The Austin Area Texas Exes honored Dr. Glenn Welsch with an
Outstanding Educator Award at a dinner and awards presentation
held on March 4, 1999, at the Lila B. Etter Alumni Center. Dr.
Ed Summers, a former student and colleague, introduced the
Outstanding Educator to the invited guests.
He recalled Dr. Welsch’s sincerity in his commitment to foster
the success of his students. From where Ed Summers sat as a
student in Dr.Welsch’s class, “Every class ended with me
convinced I was the most important and highly-regarded person in
the class with the possible exception of the instructor, and I
suspect that nearly every person in all his classes down through
the years has experienced that same exhilarating feeling.”
His teaching philosophy was that his success depended on how
effectively he helped his students succeed. He told his students
the truth and expected the truth from them. He would do his best
and expected the best from his students, said Summers.
“Help me,” he often said, “and I’ll help you.”
The professor, his colleagues and former students recounted,
interspersed the difficult concepts of his discipline with
anecdotes, humor, questions, overhead transparencies, pop
quizzes, and personal philosophy. It was a wonderful mixture.
Dr. Welsch is widely recognized as one of the country’s most
respected academic leaders in the field of accounting. He has
reached literally tens of thousands of students through his
lectures and the many textbooks he has authored or co-authored.
Printed in 18 different languages, his textbooks continue to be
a standard used in accounting departments all over the world.
Welsch grew up in Woodward County, Okla. During World War II,
Welsch commanded the Army’s 547th Signal Base Depot Company.
Following the war, he earned his Master's Degree at Oklahoma
State University in 1949 and his Doctorate from the University
of Texas at Austin in 1952.
Welsch spent the next 32 years writing, researching and teaching
at the University. He retired in 1985. Dr. Welsch received the
first professorship awarded in accounting at The University of
Texas at Austin and has received dozens of other honors for his
work.
He and his wife, Irma, have three children, who are all
certified professional accountants, and eight grandchildren.
Welsch spends his leisure time pursuing his passion for
restoring antique cars.
Congratulations to you, Dr. Welsch for a most deserved award.
For information on specific programs at the McCombs School, consult our contacts page. For media information, contact the Communications Director by phone at 512-471-3314 or by email at CommunicationsDirector@mccombs.utexas.edu.
