Ernst & Young Scholarship in Honor of Walter F. and Sharon A. Beran

As C.S. Lewis once wrote, “Friendship is the greatest of worldly goods.” By that measure, Walter Beran was rich indeed. Walter was also one of CLU’s most thoughtful friends, a friend on which he bestowed not only friendship but worldly goods. This endowed scholarship is one example, but there were other unique ways in which Walter exerted his influence on behalf of CLU.

In the mid-1970s Walter, vice chairman of Ernst & Young, and Shawn Howie ’78, an E&Y employee, teamed up to initiate a scholarship for accounting majors, a scholarship that eventually became endowed. During the CLC presidency of Mark Mathews (1972-1980), Walter used his influence in the Los Angeles corporate community to Cal Lutheran’s benefit by making himself available once a month to visit potential donors with Dr. Mathews. Walter’s blessing was enough to convince the corporate leaders of the quality of this young institution. Many of these new friends became part of the influential CLC Committee for New Dimensions.

Walter and his wife Sharon were active members of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Fallbrook, and Walter was known as a man of faith. He made in service to his community a high priority, and that was evident in the leadership responsibilities he carried—president of the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, member of the State Commission for Economic Development and the Los Angeles Rotary Club, and chair of the Los Angeles United Way fund drive. He was also a very popular speaker. In 1976 he gave the keynote address for the Mathews Business Management Forum, remarks that he entitled “How To Be Ethical in an Unethical World.” For his many contributions, California Lutheran University awarded Walter an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1978.

Walter was also highly regarded throughout the corporate environment of Ernst & Young. In 1986, when he announced his intention to retire, no fewer than 61 partners and colleagues contributed to a retirement gift in his honor. Their gifts became part of a fund to create an endowed scholarship at the institution of Walter’s choice. Walter chose Cal Lutheran.

In the years following, Walter and Sharon added substantially to the scholarship’s endowment with their personal gifts. Eventually, the scholarship’s name was altered to read the Ernst & Young Scholarship in Honor of Walter F. and Sharon A. Beran. It is awarded annually to an undergraduate accounting or business major. Given the popularity of those two majors and the substantial size of the endowment, it is safe to say that Walter Beran’s influence will continue to be felt well into the future.