Obituary: Louis Benzak, Distinguished Alumnus
Louis Benzak, Distinguished Alumnus of Penn State's Smeal College of Business and president of the Benzak Investment Company, died last month at his home in Water Mill, N.Y., at the age of 66.
Obituary: Louis Benzak, Distinguished Alumnus
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (May 25, 2006)—Louis Benzak, Distinguished Alumnus of Penn State's Smeal College of Business and president of the Benzak Investment Company, died last month at his home in Water Mill, N.Y., at the age of 66.
Benzak, a native of Bethlehem, Pa., earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Smeal in 1961 and went on to lead a very successful 45-year career on Wall Street. In 1972, after serving in the U.S. Army and working at Chase Manhattan Bank and Loeb Rhodes & Co., Benzak co-founded the New York investment firm Spears, Benzak, Salomon and Farrell. The firm ultimately grew to manage accounts worth more than $6 billion.
"The Smeal community has lost a tremendous friend with the passing of Lou," said Kenneth Lusht, interim dean of Smeal. "He exemplified all that we wish our students to become—he led a remarkably successful career, was a loving husband and father, and significantly supported so many philanthropic causes. He will be sorely missed by all of us at Penn State."
The University honored Benzak in 1988 with its Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest honor the Penn State Board of Trustees confers on graduates. He remained actively involved with Penn State and Smeal, helping to raise millions for the University and serving on Smeal's Board of Visitors.
Benzak and his wife Virginia endowed The Louis and Virginia Benzak Libraries Collection in the Business library. The collection provides books, videos and online resources on career development and industry to Smeal students, and funds a lecture series on business career topics. The endowment also supports new curricula development and funds the Louis and Virginia Benzak Business Librarian position.
Among their many other contributions to the college and University is the endowment of The Louis and Virginia Benzak Professorship of Finance, which is currently held by Professor Dennis Sheehan.
Benzak was actively involved in the Muscular Dystrophy Association for more than 30 years, serving as its president from 1989 to 1991. He also served on the Board of Trustees of American Farmland Trust and was involved in several local civic institutions.
Benzak is survived by his wife and three grown children.
REPORTERS & EDITORS: For more information, please contact Wyatt DuBois in the Smeal College of Business Media Relations Office at 814-863-3798 or wed112@psu.edu.
Penn State's Smeal College of Business offers highly ranked undergraduate, MBA, executive MBA, Ph.D., and executive education opportunities to more than 5,500 students at all levels. Featuring academic departments of accounting, finance, marketing, insurance and real estate, management, and supply chain and information systems, the college is also home to major research centers such as the Center for Supply Chain Research, the Institute for the Study of Business Markets, the Center for Digital Transformation, the Farrell Center for Corporate Innovation and Entrepreneurship, the Center for Global Business Studies, and the Center for the Management of Technological and Organizational Change.
