Patricia Shontz (1933–1998, also known as Patricia J. Shontz, Patricia O. Shontz, Patricia Shontz Longe, and Patricia Longe) was an American economist, columnist, businesswoman, and academic.

Education and career

Shontz was born in

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

in 1933, graduated

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from the

University of Detroit Mercy The University of Detroit Mercy is a private Catholic university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is sponsored by both the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) and the Sisters of Mercy. The university was founded in 1877 and is the largest Cath ...

in 1955, and went to

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public university, public research university in Detroit, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 375 programs. It is Michigan's third-l ...

for graduate study, earning an M.B.A. in 1956 and a Ph.D. in 1963; her dissertation was ''Some Aspects of the Detroit Banking Crisis''. She worked as an assistant professor at the

University of Windsor The University of Windsor (UWindsor, U of W, or UWin) is a public university, public research university in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's southernmost university. It has approximately 17,500 students. The university was incorporated by ...

from 1963 to 1966, when she became a columnist for the ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

''. She was president of the Detroit chapter of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1839, and is the second-oldest continuous ...

in 1970. By 1973 she had left her newspaper column and was a director of the Manufacturers National Bank of Detroit and of Manufacturers National Corporation. She became a professor of business administration at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, and was awarded tenure there in 1976. She was chair of the university's Senate Advisory Committee on Financial Affairs in 1978, when anti-

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

protestors who wished the university to divest from South Africa accused her of having a conflict of interest because of her bank ties. In 1978 she was elected as the first female director of the

American Motors Corporation American Motors Corporation (AMC; commonly referred to as American Motors) was an American automobile manufacturing company formed by the mergers and acquisitions, merger of Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and Hudson Motor Car Company on May 1, 19 ...

, and by 1983 she was an outside director of six corporations. As well as her work at the University of Michigan, Shontz did consulting work as a principal for The Longe Company. By 1997 she had retired from her faculty position. She continued to serve on corporate boards of directors, including one at

Comerica Comerica Incorporated is an American financial services company, headquartered in Dallas, Texas. It is the parent of Comerica Bank, a regional commercial bank with 413 branches in the U.S. states of Texas, Michigan, California, Florida and Arizon ...

, one of only 18 directorial seats held by women in Michigan-based

Fortune 500 The ''Fortune'' 500 is an annual list compiled and published by ''Fortune (magazine), Fortune'' magazine that ranks 500 of the largest United States Joint-stock company#Closely held corporations and publicly traded corporations, corporations by ...

companies. She retired from the Comerica board in March 1998, and died in

Naples, Florida Naples is a city in Collier County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 19,115, down from 19,539 at the 2010 census. Naples is a principal city of the Collier County, Florida, Naples–Marc ...

on August 16, 1998.

Recognition

In 1970, Shontz became the winner of the Gerald Loeb Award for Distinguished Business and Financial Journalism, the first winner in the editorial category. In 1977 the University of Detroit Mercy gave Shontz an honorary doctorate, and in the same year she was elected as a

Fellow of the American Statistical Association Like many other academic professional societies, the American Statistical Association (ASA) uses the title of Fellow of the American Statistical Association as its highest honorary grade of membership. The designation of ASA Fellow has been a sign ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shontz, Patricia 1933 births 1998 deaths People from Milwaukee University of Detroit Mercy alumni Wayne State University alumni Academic staff of University of Windsor University of Michigan faculty American women economists Fellows of the American Statistical Association 20th-century American economists 20th-century American women