College mourns passing of influential accounting professor
Dr. John L. “Jack” Kramer passed away the evening of April 17 after a long illness. He was surrounded by his wife of 43 years, UF accounting professor Dr. Sandra Kramer, and family, including his four sons. He was 66.
Jack, a U.S. Navy veteran, joined the University of Florida as an Associate Professor in 1980, after serving on the faculty at the University of Texas-Austin from 1975 to 1979. He earned his Ph.D. and MBA from the University of Michigan and his BBA from University of Michigan-Dearborn.
At the University of Florida, he retired as the Arthur Andersen Professor of Accounting in the Fisher School of Accounting. He served many roles at the University, including Director of the Fisher School of Accounting, Associate Dean in the Warrington College of Business Administration, and as Interim Dean of the College of Business Administration in 1989-90.
Dr. Jack Kramer was a faculty member at the College from 1979 to 2004.
Professor Kramer’s contributions to the world of tax academia are legendary. He authored numerous research papers and textbooks, served as the Editor of The Journal of the American Taxation Association and as President of the American Taxation Association. He received the ATA Ray Sommerfeld Outstanding Tax Educator Award in 2001 for lifetime achievement, the highest honor the organization bestows on tax academics.
He leaves behind an important legacy, and his contributions continue through the work of the many former students and colleagues he influenced. Any tax professor and any student of taxation owes a debt of gratitude to Jack. Former students, friends and colleagues recently contributed more than $600,000 to endow the Jack Kramer Professorship at the University of Florida.
“Jack was a friend and mentor to many,” said Dr. Gary McGill, Director of the Fisher School of Accounting and a friend and colleague of Jack’s for more than 25 years. “He brought rigor to the classroom and the tax literature, and he always had time to help students and colleagues. And he had a wicked sense of humor, a top-notch bowling game and an appreciation for fast cars. He had a critically important influence on the accounting programs at the University of Florida. I personally joined the faculty at UF largely because Jack was here.”
A memorial service will be held on Friday, April 26 at 2pm at Trinity United Methodist Church in Gainesville followed by a reception at the church. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association or Haven Hospice.
