Professor Edward A. “E.A.” Howard (BS ’31) did much to advance students during his lengthy career teaching mathematics at The University of Tulsa. He was one of those people who inspired others to reach their full potential, and he was warmly remembered by former students and family alike.
E.A. was born in Missouri in 1902. His father, Dr. William F. Howard, established TU’s Department of Mathematics in 1920, serving as its head for 21 years. E.A. earned his undergraduate degree from TU in 1931, and he earned his master’s degree from Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, in the mid-1930s. After earning his master’s, he taught for five years at Britt Junior College in Britt, Iowa. Despite his young age, he served as the head of the institution’s Department of Math and Physics.
In 1934, E.A. married his wife, Charlotte. The couple moved to Tulsa, and in 1937, E.A. became a professor in the Department of Mathematics at TU. He and Charlotte lived close to the campus, and over the years, they enjoyed attending Golden Hurricane sporting events and supporting TU Athletics.
Professor Howard became a highly regarded member of the TU faculty, and he was named Mr. Homecoming in 1965, one of the highest honors bestowed upon a faculty or staff member at The University of Tulsa. Throughout his TU career, he earned awards for his teaching skills and his classroom presence. E.A. passed away in 1983 at the age of 81.
E.A.’s wife, Charlotte, chose to recognize her husband’s noteworthy contributions to The University of Tulsa with a generous estate gift, establishing the Professor Edward A. Howard Endowed Presidential Scholarship Fund. Charlotte passed away in 1998 at the age of 94.
One former student, Jack C. Rea (BS ’47), never forgot the impact of receiving another scholarship that had been named in honor of Professor Howard when Jack was earning his degree after World War II. Jack so appreciated the financial support of this gift, that in 1996, after being named to TU’s Engineering Hall of Fame, Rea generously funded an endowment to honor both Professor Howard and another TU professor, Ralph J. Kaufmann. This fund was called the Ralph J. Kaufmann and E.A. Howard Endowed Scholarship Fund.
While Professor Howard passed away in 1983, and Professor Kaufman died in 1992, both of these outstanding academicians remained very much in the forefront of Rea’s mind as he carried out a substantial giving campaign in their honor. Jack passed away in 2016 at the age of 91.
E.A. Howard, well celebrated by many people whose lives he touched over the years, has left a meaningful legacy that continues to benefit TU students today.
