CREATOR OF FIRST VARIABLE ANNUITY PASSES AWAY

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - One of the creators of the nation’s first commercial variable annuity life insurance company died on July 12, 2001. Harold A. Dulan, professor emeritus of finance in the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, with former UA Law Professor E.J. Ball and UA MBA graduate Lewis Callison, founded the Participating Annuity Life Insurance Company.

In 1954, the company sold the first commercial variable annuity ever offered to the U.S. public. This pioneer company was later bought by Aetna. Today, variable annuities are used worldwide in estate planning for participation in economic growth and as a hedge against inflation.

Walton College Dean Doyle Z. Williams said, "The Walton College and the University has lost a dear friend who provided over 30 years of service. He was a brilliant professor, and he served the University well both in and out of the classroom. He remained deeply interested in the direction of the college’s teaching and research even after he retired. In fact, we had met with him very recently to update him on the progress of the college."

Dulan was born in 1911 in Bridgeton, N.J. He received his B.B.A. in 1937, MBA in 1937 and Ph. D. 1945 in accounting from the University of Texas. He joined the U of A in 1947 where he taught until 1978. He was also a CPA and a CFA. He received the Alumni Association’s Faculty Distinguished Achievement Award in 1966.

At various times, he served as chair of the economics department and the finance department. In 1978, Alpha Kappa Psi, an honorary business society, presented him with a plaque for over 25 years of faithful service to college education. He was also an active member of the University Teaching Academy, founded by Daniel Ferritor in 1988 to promote and stimulate an environment of teaching and learning experience.

In 1974, a group of former students initiated an effort to establish an endowed fund for a chair in Dulan’s honor. The UA Board of Trustees approved the Harold Dulan Chair in Capital Formation in 1981. The chair is now held by Pu Liu, professor of finance, who was appointed in 1996.

Of his appointment, Liu said, "It was a great honor to be appointed as the holder of such a distinguished chair. I hope to bring credit to this chair that was endowed to honor Professor Dulan and his distinguished contributions to the finance department, the college and the U of A."

Dulan also served for many years as an advisor to the UA Investment Committee. He said about that service, "You get an illustration of the practical advantages from the application of results from basic research in the income and appreciation performance of the University endowment funds. For the entire last 10 years prior to my retirement, the U of A ranked number two in investment performance out of some 200 leading universities. We achieved this outstanding record because Fred Vorsanger, chairman of the committee, allowed me to integrate the results of my economic and monetary theory basic research into our investment decisions, despite committee member oppositions."

Dulan and his wife, Bess Gunn Dulan, had celebrated their 50^th wedding anniversary in 1996. They had been active supporters of the Fayetteville Public Schools, Fayetteville Public Library, the Central United Methodist Church and Butterfield Trail Village as well as the University of Arkansas. His wife died in February 2001. They had three daughters Susan Hall of Wichita, Kan.; Kathleen Alexander of Little Rock; and Betsy Sexton of Collierville, Tenn.

Dulan’s family has designated that memorial gifts be directed to the Harold A. Dulan Professorship in Capital Formation in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, University of Arkansas, 200 Hotz Hall, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701. Checks should be made out to the University of Arkansas Foundation.

Funeral services are scheduled for Monday, July 16, at 2 p.m. at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville.