Harold (Hal) was born in New York City, the second child to his parents Harold and Frieda (Zelezny) Bierman. A successful scholar and athlete, Hal earned a commission to the United States Naval Academy from which he graduated in 1945. He served as an officer in the U.S. Navy through the end of World War II and returned for a second tour of duty in South Korea during the early years of the Korean War.
Between his service in the two wars Hal earned an MBA from the University of Michigan in 1949. Subsequently, in 1955 he completed a Ph.D. in Business Administration also from Michigan. Far more importantly, in 1952 he married his wife of 69 years, Florence Merwin Kelso. Seldom apart for nearly seven decades, Harold and Florence leaned on each other, grew with each other, and loved each other in rare and inspirational ways.
Dr. Bierman’s professional career was centered at the Samuel Curtis Johnson School Graduate School of Management at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. There he served for 59 years as a professor of finance, accounting and management where he taught and mentored thousands of students. In 1961 he was awarded the Nicholas H. Noyes Chaired Professorship of Business Administration and in 2010 the Harold Bierman Jr., Distinguished Professorship of Management, which was established in his honor by grateful alumni. There have been few business educators with as broad and deep an impact as his.
His professional accomplishments include scores of articles and dozens of books the most famous of which is The Capital Budgeting Decision co-authored with Seymour Smidt and first published in 1966 (the ninth edition of which was published in 2007). In this and many other venues, Hal’s most significant achievement was developing and championing a road map to evaluate the merits of different investment options whether in private business, the public sector, or for individuals. These are tools used by nearly every organization on a daily basis. So common are their applications that they have transcended the need for attribution to their key developer.
In 2001, after having served for years as an advisor to the development of the business program at the University of the West Indies in Trinidad, Dr. Bierman received from the University an honorary Doctor of Law (LL.D) degree.
Always a teacher, Hal spent years as coach to his four sons’ youth baseball and basketball teams. Hundreds of Ithaca youth benefitted from his generous commitment to their growth and development. With a keen ear for an original aphorism, Ithaca’s youth regularly heard Coach Bierman tell them that “every game is a lesson and every lesson a victory.” As his sons moved on to high school sports, Hal and Florence crisscrossed the southern tier of upstate New York multiple times per week for well over a decade cheering on myriad Ithaca High School Teams.
Hal loved the New York Times, Sal’s Pizza, Wegmans, the New York Giants, theater, Cornell University, education of all forms, Ocean Isle Beach, and his family. He loved Florence most of all.
Hal will be missed by his family. He is survived by his wife Florence, his sons Jim (Ellen) Bierman, Scott (Melody) Bierman, Bruce (Krista) Bierman, and Jonathan (Catherine) Bierman. He has eleven loving grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.
The Bierman family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to the Harold Bierman Jr, Distinguished Professorship of Management at Cornell University. Gifts may be made online at www.giving.cornell.edu/give or mailed to Cornell University, Box 37334, Boone, IA 50037-0334. Online condolences may be offered at www.shallottefunerals.com
A private memorial service for the family is being planned.
White Funeral and Cremation Service, 3660 Express Dr. Shallotte, NC
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