Robert W. Koehler, Penn State alumnus and associate professor emeritus of accounting in The Smeal College of Business Administration, died Jan. 3 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
A memorial service will be held from 2 to 3:30 p.m. Feb. 2 in the Pasquerilla Spiritual Center's Worship Hall on Penn State's University Park campus. A reception will follow. The service is open to friends, colleagues and students.
Koehler joined the Smeal faculty in 1963. For more than 40 years, "Bear," as he was known to friends and students alike, served Penn State and its students as one of Smeal's professors.
Koehler received his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University in 1958 and 1960, respectively, and a doctoral degree from Michigan State.
Throughout his long career at Smeal, Koehler received numerous honors and awards for his teaching and other work with students, including Penn State's Lester L. Shonto Award for Excellence in Accounting Education in 1992 and 2002; the 1994 Pennsylvania Institute of CPAs Outstanding Accounting Educator Award; the 1997 Faculty Associates Award for work with students outside of the classroom; the 1999 G. Kenneth Nelson Outstanding Chapter Adviser Award; and Beta Alpha Psi's Outstanding Faculty Adviser Award for 2002.
Also in 2002, Koehler was named Accounting Alumnus of the Year by Smeal's Department of Accounting.
His research garnered significant accolades, as well, including three Certificates of Merit from the Institute of Management Accountants for manuscripts published in Management Accounting.
At Penn State, he served on the University Marshal Corps, University Hearing Board, Study Abroad Program and as the Smeal College director for the Schreyer Honors Program.
Even after his retirement from the University in June 2003, Koehler continued teaching select courses at Smeal and working with students as an adviser to the Smeal Accounting Club; business fraternities Beta Gamma Sigma, Beta Alpha Psi and Delta Sigma Pi; and social fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa. In 1994, he was recognized for 40 years of continuous involvement with Phi Sigma Kappa with the establishment of the Dr. Robert W. Koehler Endowment. He retired as the fraternity's adviser in 2006.
Another endowment, this one at Smeal -- The Robert W. Koehler Academic Excellence Endowment in Accounting -- was established upon his retirement through gifts from Koehler, his colleagues and alumni to provide scholarships for accounting students.
Outside of teaching and mentoring students, Koehler enjoyed traveling and good food and wine. He spent part of each winter for more than three decades on the beaches of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.