April 13,1940 ~ October 14, 2024
William Beaver was born in Peoria, Illinois, to John and Ethel Beaver on April 13,1940. He attended elementary school in Gary Indiana and middle and high school in Hammond, Indiana. He received an undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1962. While attending Notre Dame, he met his beloved wife, Suzanne Marie Hutton. They married three years later. He received MBA and PhD from the Graduate School of Business (GSB) at the University of Chicago in 1965. He taught at the GSB from 1965 to 1969, before accepting a position at the Stanford GSB in 1969.
He held a position at Stanford until he went emeritus in 2006. During his tenure at Stanford, his research contributions and intellectual leadership were truly pathbreaking, his teaching was inspiring, and his mentorship is treasured by many generations of grateful students and colleagues. He received many teaching and research awards, including the Seminal Contribution to Accounting Literature Award.
His areas of interest included the relationship between financial statement data and security prices as well as the prediction of failure. He was active in the American Accounting Association, where he served as President in 1987-1988. He was also a member of the Accounting Hall of Fame.
He is survived by his wife Sue, his children Marie, Sarah and David, his two grandsons, Cassiar and Aghileen, and by Marie’s partner Marvin and his children Sedona and Jake. He and Sue enjoyed traveling, especially with their children and grandchildren.
Bill died of Covid. He passed away peacefully surrounded by family. Anyone wishing to make donations can donate to the Stanford Graduate School of Business.