IN MEMORIAM
A. FABORN ETIER
A. Faborn Etier, a long-time faculty member of twenty-nine years
at The University of Texas at Austin, passed away on Tuesday, June
14, 2005, at the age of 88. Dr. Etier, son of Jenny (Bullington)
and John S. Etier, was born on October 4, 1916, in Weatherford
(Parker County), Texas. He attended Brock High School and graduated
as valedictorian of his class in 1934. After graduation, he went
to Weatherford Junior College before enrolling and graduating from
Daniel Baker College in Brownwood, Texas, with a B.A. degree in
1940. During this period he served as a grade school principal
and high school principal (Dennis High School) in Parker County.
After receiving his B.A. degree, Dr. Etier served as high school
principal (and business education teacher) at Santo High School
in Palo Pinto County, Texas, and as head of the Business Administration
Department at Weatherford Junior College. During this period he
attended Texas Christian University and received his M.A. degree
in 1944.
Except for a short tour of duty in the U.S. Army Air Force, he
served as a business education teacher at Mineral Wells High School
in Texas. Then in 1946, was appointed as an associate professor
at Midwestern University in Wichita Falls, Texas, where he was
promoted to full professor in 1950 after completing his Ed.D. at
Columbia University in New York. In 1952, Faborn received an appointment
to The University of Texas at Austin as head of the Office Administration
Division in the Department of General Business, and he served in
that capacity until his retirement on July 31, 1981.
In recognition of his involvement and reputation in business education
and secretarial fields, Dr. Etier had membership in four honorary
business education and education fraternities and was made an honorary
member of the National Secretaries Association (International).
In the ‘50s, ‘60s, and ‘70s he held numerous
executive posts, involving business education on the national,
regional, and local levels. These included election to the Executive
Board of the National Association for Business Teacher Education
and service as its program chairman, president of the Mountains-Plains
Business Education Association, president of the Texas Business
Education Association, and program chairman of the Business Education
Section of the Texas State Teachers Association – District
X (three times).
He directed and frequently planned over fifty-five workshops,
seminars, and in-service training programs, primarily for business
teachers and secretaries, not only in Texas but in Mexico. He planned,
organized, and coordinated a self-improvement course for Austin
Area Secretaries for fourteen years as well as a methods conference
for Texas Business Education Teachers for eight years. He was a
consultant to numerous public schools and others, such as the Gary
Job Corps Training Center and Arkansas State Department of Education.
At UT, Dr. Etier established two honorary fraternities: one the
Alpha Theta Chapter of Delta Pi Epsilon, a graduate honorary fraternity
for business education teachers, and the other Gamma Omega Chapter
of Pi Omega Pi, an undergraduate fraternity for business education
majors. In addition, he established the University Testing Center
for the Certified Professional Secretaries examination, and he
administered the examination for over twenty years.
During his tenure at the University he served on numerous department,
college, and university committees. For example, he was a member
of the College of Business Administration College Commencement
Committee for four years, the Teacher Placement Committee in the
College of Education for four years, and The University of Texas
Council for Teacher Education for fifteen years. In addition, he
was chairman of the Education Committee of the Texas Business Education
Association for two years and state director of The University
of Texas Interscholastic League typewriting and shorthand contests
for approximately twenty years. He was also appointed by the state
commissioner of education (Dr. J.W. Edgar) to serve on a commission
to study and make recommendations on business education offerings
in Texas secondary schools and later to complete a curriculum framework
study for business education for public schools.
Dr. Etier was in demand as a speaker on the national, regional,
state, and local levels. In reviewing the records, it appears he
gave talks or speeches to at least sixty different groups, including
schools, conventions, service clubs, universities, and associations.
He also was a visiting professor in the 1970s for two summers at
The University of Texas at El Paso and Catholic University of America
in Washington, D.C.
Faborn was noted for his working with students and his teaching.
He served as chairman of over fifty-two theses and professional
reports and was either a member or co-chair of three dissertation
committees. He was noted for the enthusiasm he brought to teaching
courses in office administration, typing, shorthand, and business
education. He not only created new courses but was innovative in
the development of new instructional methods. He was internationally
renowned for developing special systems for the teaching of typewriting:
one that used electronics in the teaching of beginning typewriting,
and the other, from a U.S. Office of Education grant, to develop
a system for teaching typewriting to blind students. For these
efforts, Dr. Etier received the College of Business Administration
Innovative Teaching Award in 1978. He was also instrumental in
developing simplified methods of teaching shorthand.
Although Dr. Etier had a number of publications in various journals,
such as
The Journal of Business Education and
National
Business Education Forum, he is best remembered for two textbooks,
Typewriting
Drills for Speed and Accuracy and
Typewriting for Electronics,
and his instructor’s manuals for teaching typewriting by
electronics for blind and for sighted students.
Dr. Etier and his office administration staff developed highly
qualified secretaries, executive secretaries, administrative assistants,
and business education teachers at UT. Their students were sought
by businesses and organizations, and numerous letters of appreciation
and commendation are in his and other faculty files.
At the time of his death, Dr. Etier was survived by his wife Betty;
his sons, John and Mark; his daughter, Betty; and their respective
families. He was buried in the East Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford,
Texas.
<signed>
William Powers Jr., President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
Sue Alexander Greninger, Secretary
The General Faculty
This memorial resolution was prepared by a special committee consisting of Emeritus
Professors Gaylord A. Jentz (chair) and Charles T. Clark; Carol Lutz, retired
lecturer; and Kristi Brown, executive assistant.
