A Passionate Leader

Carl R. Beidleman, a “towering figure” in Lehigh’s College of Business during his professorship and the first to chair its nascent Department of Finance, died Sept. 13, 2022, at Masonic Village in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He was 89.

Beidleman, who was the DuBois Distinguished Professor of Finance, had joined the Lehigh faculty in 1967 and thrived there for 30 years until his retirement.

“Carl was a passionate leader in his field,” said Jack W. Paul, emeritus professor of accounting. “He was a pioneer in bringing about the evolution of financial research, helping provide the field with the academic stature it enjoys today.”

Beidleman also took the initial steps to bring finance at Lehigh into a discipline of prominence in the College of Business and the university, Paul said, recalling a Lehigh faculty meeting at which Beidleman delivered an impassioned speech advocating for a finance department. At the time, finance was considered part of the Department of Economics at Lehigh. “That speech won the day,” Paul said, “and shortly thereafter, a Department of Finance became a reality.”

James Largay, emeritus professor of accounting, described Beidleman as “a towering figure” in Lehigh’s business college. “Carl dedicated himself to increasing the profile and excellence of the Finance area,” he said.

In addition to his work at Lehigh, Beidleman gave lectures at many universities internationally. He also was a prolific writer, with articles in numerous journals, including Sloan Management Review, Columbia Journal of Business and Bloomberg Magazine. He published the inaugural book on “Financial Swaps,” which led to three volumes: “The Handbook of International Investing,” “Interest-Rate Swaps” and “Cross Currency Swaps.”

He later became involved in the economics of large structural systems and investigated the life cycle cost of bridges and the use of project finance to underwrite large infrastructural projects.

“Academically he was a scholar and a great teacher in the classroom,” said Kenneth Sinclair, professor of accounting. “He also was available to fellow faculty, students and the administration. If I needed to get feedback about some issue at Lehigh, Carl was always available. In addition, he always made sense about what he was saying. In my mind Carl was the perfect example of what a college professor should be.”

Beidleman, who was born at home in Plains, Pennsylvania, in 1932, was industrious and believed deeply in the value of education, guiding principles and the stewardship of nature’s bounty, his family said. He loved big band music, playing bridge, nature and numbers and was committed to his family. He was married to his wife, Inge Becker, for 67 years.

Beidleman received his Bachelor of Science in metallurgical engineering in 1954 from Lafayette College, then joined General Electric, where he worked on a nuclear submarine project. In 1961, he returned to academics, earning an MBA from Drexel University and a Ph.D. in finance from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He held honors from Tau Beta Pi, Beta Gamma Sigma and Phi Delta Epsilon.

Beidleman had an active consultancy. He was a board member of CoreStates Bank and its predecessors, Independence Bancorp and Bucks County Bank and Trust Co., and a board member for C.F. Martin Guitar Corporation for 30 years.

He also was committed to community service. He was president of the Parent Teacher League for Gloria Dei Lutheran Church School in Ambler; board member of Christ Lutheran Church in Hellertown, where he taught Bible study; a member of the Masonic Lodge of Moscow; and a member of the board of WDIY public radio, the Bethlehem Girls Club and the Fairview Lake Association, all in Pennsylvania. In retirement, he remained active in stewardship as a board member of the Delaware Highlands Conservancy.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by his three children: Mark C. Beidleman ’78 and his wife Debbie, of Texas; Susan A. Pearson ’82, of Bermuda; and David C. Beidleman ’86 ’91G and his wife Renie ’92G, of Lititz, Pa.; five grandchildren and a great-granddaughter.