Obituary: Glen Berryman was longtime accounting professor at U's Carlson School

For students at the Carlson School of Management from the 1960s through the 1990s, Glen Berryman was the accounting professor with a reputation as a terrific but tough teacher.

For faculty, Berryman was the institutional memory of the accounting department, where he taught for 40 years and also co-founded the Cedar Riverside Community Bank just down the street.

"He was the rock of the accounting department … as faculty came and went," said Fred Jacobs, a retired professor who worked with Berryman for nearly three decades. "He served as a mentor to many faculty, including me."

Robert Glen Berryman died Oct. 14 at age 85. His legacy lives on in accounting firms across the Twin Cities and beyond, where he forged career tracks for generations of Carlson students.

"I met a former student last week who is the CFO of a global company based in Hong Kong," said Judy Rayburn, a professor in the department. "He told me to let Glen know that he was an inspiration to his career."

Berryman, the son of the late Loyd and Gladys Berryman, grew up on a dairy farm near Scales Mound, Ill. He battled polio during his childhood and used a walking cane throughout his life. He earned his B.S. and MBA degrees from Northwestern University and a Ph.D. from the University of Illinois.

After working in a private accounting firm in Chicago, he began a career at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School, where he won many top teaching awards.

In addition, the Minnesota Society of CPAs created the R. Glen Berryman Award in 1976 to annually recognize individual contributions to the field.

"I think the thing he'd be most proud of was the impact he had on students' lives," said his son David Berryman, of Eagan. "Working with students was his love."

Throughout his career, Berryman actively developed relationships with CPA firms in downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul to provide career paths and internships for students, said Rayburn.

The professor also was committed to the neighborhood around the Carlson School on the U's West Bank. He advised its community developers in the 1970s, said Jacobs.

He also was one of the founders and longtime board members of Riverside Community Bank — now part of Associated Banks. He saw it as a way to help ensure that small businesses had access to loans. Carlson faculty still refer to the bank as "Glen's bank."

His sons describe Berryman as a humble, affable man whose family was of top importance. When he was invited to a national conference, instead of looking at it as a break from the family, he'd bring his wife and children along to the event — and then arrange a two-week vacation around it.

"I got to be the navigator," Peter Berryman joked.

Berryman retired in 1996 and lived in Roseville.

Said Peter Berryman: "He was a fortunate person in that his career was a labor of love."

Berryman is survived by his wife of 59 years, Ruth; sons David and Peter; daughter Kathryn (Landford) of Minneapolis; and grandchildren.