Gordon Ford
Gordon B. Ford was born on September 27th, 1913 in Greenville, KY. He came to Bowling Green Business University, the forerunner of WKU’s business college, where he graduated in 1934. Gordon credited much to his mother, Mattie Newman Ford, as he was able to attend school only through the hard work and determination of her. Mrs. Ford had also attended WKU, receiving a teaching certificate in 1909.
Gordon was just a young accountant when he became a founding partner of Yeager, Ford & Warren, an accounting firm in Louisville, KY. The firm merged with Coopers & Lybrand, which later merged with Price Waterhouse to become PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the largest accounting firms in the country. Ford worked there until he retired as a partner.
Gordon’s influence extended beyond his own practice. He was active in many organizations including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as the group’s vice president and director; the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants as president and winner of the group’s Distinguished Service Award; the Louisville Chamber of Commerce and Louisville Central Area, Inc. as director; the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary as a trustee and member; Bellarmine College and Kentucky Southern College as a trustee; and several corporations including Hubbuch’s, Paul Semonin Company, Broadway Chevrolet, American Car Rental, Broadway Investments, 845 Inc., Southwestern Investment Trust, the Gordon Ford Foundation and V.V. Cooke Foundation as director. Gordon was a member of the American Seniors Golf Association, Southern Seniors Golf Association, Louisville Country Club, Harmony Landing Country Club, the Country Club of Florida, the Ocean Club of Florida, Rotary Club of Louisville, Delta Sigma Pi, and a former member of the Pendennis Club. He was a former member and deacon of Broadway Baptist Church. He was a member of and previously served as an elder of Second Presbyterian Church in Louisville, as well as a member of First Presbyterian Church in Delray Beach, FL. He was the author of several articles, including one for the Journal of Accountancy titled “Long Range Plan for Development and Growth of a CPA Firm” and was co-author of “History of the Professional Practice of Accounting in Kentucky.”
In addition to having a prolific career, Gordon was also devoted to his family. He married Glenda Ford, to whom he was married for 30 years until his death in 2005. He had three children: Dr. Gordon B. Ford Jr., Gayle Ford Whittenberg, and Gregory N. Ford.
Gordon’s loyalty to WKU remained long after he graduated. In December 1998, Gordon honored his and his mother’s legacy at WKU when he announced a $10.6 million gift commitment to the University, which was, at the time, the largest single gift in the school’s history. The gift created the Gordon Ford Dean’s Fund for Excellence and the Mattie Newman Ford Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies. In a show of appreciation, WKU renamed the business college the Gordon Ford College of Business. He was an active member of the WKU Board of Advisors and a director of the WKU Foundation.
To further show his support, Gordon established the Gordon Ford Scholarship Fund in 1994. It was created to help eligible WKU accounting majors in the Gordon Ford College of Business. Even many years later, Gordon Ford’s presence is felt on WKU’s campus, and through generosity like this fund, that legacy lives on in perpetuity.