Distinguished Achievement Award Recipient Edward Rondthaler IV
The W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University’s Main Campus thanks one of its most successful alumni for years of support by presenting the 2000 Distinguished Achievement Award to Edward Rondthaler IV at the Business Undergraduate Convocation Thursday, May 11.
The Distinguished Achievement Award is presented annually to an individual who has made significant contributions to his field, and who has helped advance the programs and students of the School of Business at ASU’s Main Campus.
Faculty and administrators use phrases such as “unselfish support” and “enduring commitment” to describe Mr. Rondthaler’s relationship to the School of Business and the Department of Economics.
He established the Edward Rondthaler Excellence in Economics Award in 1976 -- an annual prize that now covers one year full tuition for an outstanding student majoring in Economics at the beginning of his/her senior year. In 1997 he began the Emeriti Scholarship in honor of retired Economics professors, which helps support students pursuing doctoral degrees in Economics. The same year, he endowed the Edward and Carolyn Rondthaler Chair in Economics, which will enable the School of Business to attract another outstanding scholar to the department. Since the mid-1980s he has served on the Investment and Finance Committee for the ASU Foundation – a committee he now chairs – and upon his retirement accepted a seat on the Foundation board.
Rondthaler, now a resident of Cedar City, Utah, earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics at ASU in 1959. He returned several years later to earn a Master of Science in Economics in 1966. From his home base in Las Vegas, he went on to build a highly successful career in securities, specializing in institutional sales and investment consulting. He retired from Salomon Smith Barney in 1997 as a Senior Vice President.
Long after graduation he continued to make the trip to Tempe to work on behalf of the Economics Department and the University because his education at ASU “was such a wonderful experience.”
During a recent interview, Rondthaler described the personal relationships with faculty that enriched his education and shaped the direction of his career. For example, while he was a Masters student, one professor loaned him his office for the summer so that he would have a place to study. Later, another professor rearranged his class schedule so that Rondthaler could hold down a full time job and take care of his sick wife. And, it was the advice of his mentor – an Economics professor – that set him off on what would be a successful career in securities.
“I’ve never forgotten that,” Rondthaler said. “As soon as I was able I wanted to start paying back the good things that happened to me here.”
