Political Fallout: Impact on Main Street and Wall Street
Paul Isely, Sridhar Sundaram, Erika King, Mitch Stapley, and Bob Roth discuss the roots of the financial crisis and solutions going forward at the Political Fallout: Impact on Main Street and Wall Street Breakfast Lecture on September 14, 2011.
The Legacy of Seidman
The Seidman College of Business was named in honor of the late Frank Edward Seidman, who for more than 50 years was a distinguished member of the Grand Rapids business community and a partner in the national accounting firm of BDO/Seidman. He was nationally recognized as a business and civic leader, an economist, and a philanthropist. For many years he wrote a newspaper column on business and economics and contributed to numerous professional journals. He was also the co-author of three technical books, Legislative History of the Federal Income Tax Law, Financing the War, and Accounting Handbook.
Mr. Seidman worked for both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in commercial science by attending night classes at New York University. He placed a high value on education and was devoted to improving educational opportunities for all persons from all backgrounds. He was especially dedicated to improving the level of competence in the business and public sectors, not only in his own firm, but also in all of the organizations it audited.
He was, in every sense, a creative businessman. His own competence and remarkable qualities of leadership were reflected in the many honors bestowed upon him. He was chairman of the Citizens’ Advisory Committee on the Michigan Tax Study and of the Michigan State Board of Accountancy. He was a director of the Grand Rapids Community Chest and the Community Services of Kent County for 25 years and was a long-time director of the Grand Rapids Foundation, the largest philanthropic organization of its kind in the area. As a trustee of the Thomas Erler Seidman Foundation, named for a deceased son, he was instrumental in providing youth-building and educational opportunities for thousands of young persons in the Grand Rapids area as well as funds for the Seidman House at Grand Valley.
In establishing the Seidman College, Grand Valley intended to embody the philosophy, ideas, and spirit of Mr. Seidman and to provide a place to gain an education in business and administration in West Michigan.
Just as quality was the hallmark of Mr. Seidman’s efforts, so quality in education has been made the touchstone of Seidman College. Grand Valley’s purpose has been to honor the man not merely by affixing his name to the college, but by perpetuating the high ideals to which he personally dedicated himself.
Page last modified August 27, 2012
