[dropcap sid=”dropcap-1446585320″]S[/dropcap]eymour Eisenman (MBA ’69, PhD ’75) of Belle Harbor, N.Y., died peacefully of natural causes on August 28, 2016, at the age of 81. He is survived by his wife, Ann; children John, Ben, Rachel, and Helene; and three grandchildren.
Dr. Eisenman had a long connection with the Baruch College community as both a student and a professor. He began teaching at Baruch in 1970 as a lecturer. In 1975 he was the first person to earn a PhD in accountancy from CUNY, under the supervision of legendary alumnus/professor Abraham Brilloff (’37, MSEd ’41) and in that same year was appointed as an assistant professor. Over the years—he remained at Baruch for his entire career before retiring in 2001—Dr. Eisenman taught several classes in the Stan Ross Department of Accountancy, including Financial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting, Principles of Accounting, and Financial Reporting.
Professor Eisenman loved teaching both graduate and undergraduate students and was deeply committed to his students, enjoying hearing about their lives in and out of the classroom. Beloved in return, he was honored with a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Beta Alpha Psi student honor society. In addition to teaching, he served as a supervisor to the BBA, MBA, and other graduate programs.
Professor Eisenman was born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1935. He attended Bethany College and graduated in 1957 with a BS in biology and history. He served in the U.S. Army from 1960 to 1962. In 1963 he married his wife, Ann. Seymour was a collegial and generous man who enjoyed talking to people. This included his family, friends, students, and colleagues as well as people he met in everyday life. He was a great storyteller, whether recalling his youth in Brooklyn or his army days in Germany. He was also an avid baseball fan throughout his life, first following the Brooklyn Dodgers and later the New York Mets. In the final weeks of his life, he enjoyed having box scores read aloud to him. Seymour was interested in many subjects and was always reading, especially books on history. He could retain the details of what he read and would often give a “lecture” at the dinner table on whatever he was reading. He also loved watching movies and listening to music.
Tributes from Former Students
Stephen Bryan (MBA ’90)
Seymour was my accounting professor back in the mid-1980s. I remember the first day he walked into class, carrying a cane and a gray briefcase with duct tape patches. My friends Benjamin and Gene took note. We felt great anticipation, tinged, frankly, with a bit of fear. We all realized that this was going to be a different sort of experience.
Seymour’s section of Accounting 9804 was certainly an “old-school” demanding experience. But the fear that we felt was the positive sort, the kind that comes from respect for someone who expected us to step up to the challenge. He also had a 30,000-foot view of what we were doing “down here.” This doesn’t mean he glossed over the technicalities of accounting—not at all—but he always pulled back and with wonderful humor laughed at how this or that little accounting detail added to the improvement (or not) of the human condition. It was a brilliant mixture of detailed, nitty-gritty instruction with the broadest imaginable philosophy of life.
I think it is fair to say that many, many students loved him very much and are greatly saddened he is no longer with us. He taught us a great deal about a great many things, and the memories are enduring and continue to be endearing.
RIP, dear friend and teacher.
Leon Shivamber (’84)
Yes, I learned accounting in his classroom, but he also taught me more, including an appreciation of a broad diversity of great music. He was a multidimensional mentor, and his lessons stayed with me. He changed my life.
Click here to read Professor Eisenman’s online obituary and to leave your own tribute.