Deaths

William H. Rice

William H. Rice, retired UI lobbyist, died Oct. 7 at the Champaign County
Nursing Home, Urbana. He was 77.

Rice graduated from the UI in 1940. He helped recruit the original "Flying
Squadron" Naval Air Force Squadron and was a carrier-based Navy fighter
pilot during World War II, flying 38 missions and earning three decorations
in his 4 1/2-year Navy career, which he began with the rank of seaman
second class and ended as a lieutenant commander.

From 1945 until his retirement, Rice worked for the UI, first with the
Alumni Association and the Athletic Association, then as administrative
assistant to the president in charge of legislative relations. During a
leave of absence, he served as executive assistant to Gov. William Stratton
and Gov. Otto Kerner.

Rice served as supervisor of Champaign Township from 1982 to 1989 and
served on the Champaign County Board from 1988 to 1992.

Rice also served as president of the board of Health of the
Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, board member and former director
of the Champaign Rotary club, campaign manager or Mercy Hospital's $16
million hospital addition and as a member of the board of directors of
Busey First National Bank for 20 years.

Survivors include his wife, Nancy; two sons; a daughter; a sister; and four
grandchildren.

Memorials may be made to the Illinois Scholarship Fund.


Paul M. Van Arsdell

Paul M. Van Arsdell, longtime head of the department of finance, died Oct.
10 at Covenant Medical Center, Urbana. He was 89.

Van Arsdell earned a bachelor's degree in 1927, a master's in 1929 and a
doctorate in economics in 1935, all from the UI.

He joined the UI faculty in 1927. He taught courses in economics and
accounting before the formation of the department of finance. He served as
head of the finance department from its inception in 1957 until his
retirement in 1971.

Following his retirement from the UI, he joined the faculty of the Florida
Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Fla., where he served as visiting
distinguished professor of finance from 1971 to 1975. In 1975, he joined
the faculty of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, where he was the Armco
Alumni Professor of Finance until he retired from active teaching in 1980.

Van Arsdell was a consultant to a number of corporations and served as
principal business economist for the Office of Price Administration in
1942. From 1943 to 1946, he was an officer in the U.S. Navy at Washington,
D.C.

He was a past president of the American Finance Association and a
co-founder and past president of the Midwest Finance Association. He also
was a founding member of the Southern Finance Association.

He was a past chairman of the board of the University YMCA and a past
member of the Illini Union Board.

Survivors include his wife, Sophia; a son; and six grandchildren.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Paul M. Van Arsdell Sr. Award in
Finance, UI Foundation, Harker Hall, or to the First Presbyterian Church of
Champaign, 302 W. Church St., Champaign.