School of Business Gazette

Professor Emeritus James Bower Dies

Professor Emeritus James B. (Jim) Bower passed away on Jan. 21 at his home in Madison. He had been associated with the UW-Madison School of Business since 1946, starting as a graduate student, then as an instructor and a professor, retiring in 1988.

Professor Bower was chairman of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems and created the Center for Health Care Fiscal Management. He served as secretary of the state's Accounting Examining Board and chairman of the board of the UW Credit Union. He served on many university committees, including the Athletic Board, where he helped to lead an increase in facilities and participation in intramural athletics. He was also author, editor or coauthor of a half-dozen books. His contributions were formally recognized by the School of Business with the Robert A. Jerred Excellence Award for distinguished faculty service.

At his memorial service, one of his grandchildren read a letter from a business school faculty member about the positive ways in which Jim Bower had touched people and “made a difference in the world.”  

His three children James S. Bower, Douglas J. Bower and Marilyn B. Lawrence, have created an endowed fund with the University of Wisconsin Foundation, in memory of their parents, the James and Eleanor Bower Memorial Scholarship Fund, to support full-time graduate and undergraduate students in the Accounting and Information Systems Department.