Stanley Arbingast, a distinguished and beloved professor of marketing and resources
in the College of Business at The University of Texas at Austin devoted his entire
professional life to the University, to the state of Texas, and always to his
students. Born in Iowa but raised in Minnesota, he had a continuous exposure
to Austin, but in this case Austin, Minnesota, where he attended Austin High
School and Winona State University. Upon graduation he embarked on a career in
education, teaching in high school.
His career was interrupted by Pearl Harbor and the commencement of World War
II. Like a great many young men of his generation, he served in the armed forces,
working as a cryptanalyst in the Air Force. Like a number of other veterans,
he took advantage of the opportunity to continue his higher education. He entered
graduate school at the University of Washington, completing his Ph.D. in September
1949. After growing up in Austin, Minnesota, it seemed fated that he was offered
a teaching job in Austin at The University of Texas as an assistant professor
of marketing and resources in the College of Business Administration.
Although Dr. Arbingast made important academic and political contributions to
the University, he always thought of himself primarily as a teacher. He loved
to teach, and his students loved his teaching. He started the first session of
every class by making appointments for a personal interview with every student,
in which he learned each student’s personal background and his or her goals
in life. His student teaching ratings were consistently high, and he was frequently
the recipient of teaching excellence awards. His course on the resources and
industries of Texas was especially popular.
Because of his educational background in geography and resources, from the outset
he was assigned as part time staff of the Bureau of Business Research. The Bureau
was funded separately by the Texas State Legislature to finance the monthly
Texas
Business Review, which provides statistical data on the Texas economy for
the legislature and the business community. Ultimately, with the retirement of
John Stockton as director of the Bureau, Arbingast was appointed as director,
serving from 1969 through 1975. While he was associated with the Bureau, he was
the author and coauthor of numerous publications which focused on the economy
of Texas and the Southwest. He edited the
Texas Business Review and
the
Atlas of Texas Series published by the Bureau.
Dr. Arbingast was elected or appointed to serve on many University and college
committees. He was also requested to work with several state of Texas committees
in an advisory capacity. The award he most prized was election to membership
in The Hall of Fame of The College of Business Administration, a very distinguished
group of business and academic leaders in the Texas business community. After
retirement, he served a term as president of the Retired Faculty Association
of the University and chaired the scholarship fund of the organization for many
years thereafter.
Dr. Arbingast was born September 26, 1910, and died April 12, 2005. His former
colleagues will miss him a lot, but we believe his good works will live on in
all of his students, faculty, and friends whose lives he enriched.
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
