First-ever VCU dean of business and eternal Ram fan dies at 91

Weeks before his death, Virginia Commonwealth University’s first dean of business sat in the hospital holding his 4-year-old great-granddaughter on his lap.

“She was just hugging on him and just loving him, and he was like a child also,” said Michael Hall, son of national business education leader James Curtis Hall. “He was a very sweet man, very gentle, a gentleman, and he just led by example.”

Hall said the precious moment was telling of his father’s loving nature.

During his 91 years of life, Mr. Hall helped shape how business and economics were taught in universities across the country through textbooks and seminars. In Virginia, he spearheaded the development of the top-ranked VCU School of Business as a dean.

In his 26 years as dean, he grew the school’s enrollment from 400 to more than 4,500, expanding its programs and garnering accreditations.

“He built the VCU business school,” Michael Hall said. “It’s better because of him; it drove him.”

Born in the rural Virginia city of Galax in 1926, only one other sibling — out of six — joined Mr. Hall in pursuing higher education.

“He had motivation to begin with. He grew up in a poor part of Virginia, and ... he was driven,” said Michael Hall. “I don’t know where he got that from.”

After his modest upbringing, Mr. Hall spent three years in the Navy before attending Duke University. He then earned his master’s and doctorate degrees in business from Virginia Tech and Columbia University, respectively.

Mr. Hall became dean when the Richmond Professional Institute’s School of Business merged with VCU to form its new department.

From there, he was involved in designing the business building, advancing the curriculum and growing the faculty until he stepped down and returned to the classroom as a professor.

“That was his life, that’s what he was most proud of,” Michael Hall said.

Hall said his father taught during the summer, and brought his family with him to universities in other states such as Hawaii so he could work as an adjunct professor during the week and vacation on the weekend.

“He would do that on his time off,” Hall said.

Watching his father lead within his field, Hall said he was inspired to pursue his own passions in state planning as a lawyer after he originally studied to be an accountant.

“He helped with all of that,” Hall said. “That’s where I ended up, and that’s because of him.”

Outside of his love for business, Mr. Hall supported the VCU Rams men’s basketball team with vigor, buying season passes for at least 25 years straight and traveling out of state for games.

“He would follow them everywhere,” his son said. “He has his name on a seat in the VCU Siegel Center because he’s given so much.”

Amid his progress within VCU, Mr. Hall founded the Virginia Council on Economic Education in 1969. The council is a nonprofit dedicated to providing K-12 schools with resources to teach economics for little or no cost.

When he stepped down as the council’s president in 1988, the board created an award named in his honor. Each year, the nonprofit awards someone who is “an outstanding supporter of economic education in Virginia,” the younger Hall said.

Mr. Hall continued to serve on the board until his death.

Mr. Hall is survived by his wife, Barbara S. Hall; his son, Michael; a daughter, Suzanne Hall Beisner; a brother, A. Lee Hall; a sister, Rubydelle Hall Heller; four grandchildren; three stepgrandchildren and a great-grandchild.

A visitation for Mr. Hall will take place at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at Woody Funeral Home, Huguenot Chapel. A service will follow at 3 p.m.

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