Robert B. Trader
Oct. 16, 2003
Robert B. Trader, professor emeritus of marketing at Western Michigan University, died Oct. 12 in Florida. He was 81.
Trader retired in 1986 after 34 years at the University. He helped found WMU's Department of Marketing in 1962, serving as chairperson until 1984. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving chairperson in University history.
Trader was a longtime member and past president of the West Michigan Chapter of the American Marketing Association, and in 1982 he received the chapter's Distinguished Marketing Educator Award. He also served as a member of the executive advisory board of the Midwest Marketing Association.
An Army Air Forces veteran of World War II, Trader earned his bachelor's degree at Indiana University, a master's degree at the University of Pittsburgh and his doctoral degree at Michigan State University.
Memorial donations may be made to the Robert B. Trader Scholarship Fund, care of the WMU Foundation, 1903 W. Michigan Ave., Kalamazoo MI 49008-5403.
Media contact: Jessica English, 269 387-8400, jessica.english@wmich.edu