The Lubin Story

A Century of Opportunities

Students, alumni, administrators, and professors reflect on Pace's first century.

Homer Pace

Founded in 1906 by Homer and Charles Pace, Pace Institute began as a business school for men and women who aspired to a better life. While studying for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) examination, Homer Pace stated that New York afforded very little and very poor instruction along these lines, and he "discovered that the accounting literature in the United States was practically nil." Homer purchased British accounting publications for $75 and began preparing literature on accounting. Other students began utilizing this material and Homer did some tutoring. After passing the CPA examination, Homer considered "the advisability of opening a school in New York for coaching in accountancy and also for teaching the real, genuine bookkeeping that the accountants consider the best and which cannot be found in the commercial schools."

Charles Pace was originally a teacher who studied law at night. Eventually, he became a name partner in the Cambridge, Ohio law firm of Rosemond & Pace. After leaving the firm, Charles moved to New York and became a court reporter before returning to the Midwest to work as the private secretary for Frank Kellogg, later Secretary of State in the Coolidge Administration. Eventually, Charles returned to New York City as a court reporter before joining Homer in the educational enterprise.

Charles Pace

Homer and Charles Pace borrowed $600 and established Pace & Pace partnership to prepare students for the New York CPA examination. They rented a classroom and office in the old Tribune building in lower Manhattan and taught 10 men and 3 women the principles of accounting and business law. That building once stood where the Pace Plaza building stands today. Within a year, the operation had expanded from a dozen enrollees to eighty students. Two years later, because of the overwhelming success of the Pace School of Accountancy, the Pace brothers relocated classes to the nearby Hudson Terminal complex. At this time, expansion continued into both Brooklyn and New Jersey. By the end of the following decade, classes had expanded nationwide, including Los Angeles, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Seattle. However, over 4000 students were enrolled at that point in the New York metropolitan area alone and the Pace brothers were concerned about a lack of quality control, as well as maintaining their high academic standards. For these reasons, the extension schools were phased out in the early to mid 1920's.

By the end of the decade, the stock market crashed, yet enrollment continued to climb. This led to a move to the Transportation Building at 225 Broadway. During this time of economic unrest, Homer made personal sacrifices, including the total forfeiture of his salary and a $100,000 extension of tuition credit to students requiring loans to finance their education.

	In 1927, Pace Institute moved into rented space in the Transportation Building at 225 Broadway

Furthermore, in response to increased student demand, an investment finance class was added. In 1933, Homer reorganized the Institute by dividing the school into three separate areas: the School of Marketing, Advertising & Selling, the School of Credit Science, and the School of Accountancy, each with their own separate advisory board. Flexible schedules were re-emphasized and popular classes dropped due to a shortage of funds were re-introduced.

In 1935, Pace Institute was incorporated as a non-profit institution of higher education in New York State. Also during this time, Pace applied for a provisional charter as a corporation by the state of New York to provide instruction on both the secondary and primary levels. The provisional charter was granted on May 17, 1935. Under the charter, Pace Institute would have its trustees elected by the shareholders, which included Homer Pace and his two sons, Robert Scott Pace and C. Richard Pace. Consequently, this led to the disintegration of the Pace & Pace partnership, which had operated the school since its inception in 1906. On December 12, 1940, Charles Pace passed away. In 1942 Pace Institute was granted an absolute charter by the New York State Board of Regents. A week later, Homer Pace, age 63, died of a cerebral hemorrhage. He was stricken while working in his office at the Institute. Newspapers throughout the country reported his death.

Following his father's death, Robert Scott Pace became President of Pace Institute. Robert's brother, C. Richard Pace, became Secretary of Pace Institute. Despite various war-related issues, the Institute maintained a solid academic reputation. In 1943, the American Association of Commercial Colleges characterized Pace as "probably the most renowned school of its type in the world." At this time, Pace became a member of the Association of Business Institutes of the State of New York.

Helene and Wayne Marks '62 donated property for the Pleasantville campus

After a two year hiatus due to his activity in World War II, Robert Pace resumed his position as the President of Pace University in September 1945. He immediately restrengthened the curriculum due to the New York State Education Department's decision to revise the qualitative requirements for the CPA exam. In 1946, the trustees determined it was time for Pace Institute to become a degree-granting school. This was accomplished on December 20, 1948, when the New York State Board of Regents approved Pace Institute's application for college status and permitted the awarding of the BBA degree. While a new liberal arts curriculum was slowly developed, the business school remained the backbone of the college. By the late 1950's, Pace College became eligible to award Master's in Business Administration (MBA) degrees and in 1960 the combined BBA/MBA program was introduced.

In the late 1960's Robert Pace sought permission from the Board of Regents to offer the MBA degree at the Westchester campus (opened in September 1963) and the PhD degree in Business Administration at the New York City campus. Five years later, Pace was awarded the right to offer a doctoral program leading to the Doctor of Professional Studies. In 1973, the New York Board of Regents officially recognized Pace's petition to become a full-fledged University.

Who is Joseph Lubin?

Joseph Lubin

Joseph Lubin received his Certificate in Accountancy from Pace Institute in 1921. A native New Yorker born on the Lower East Side, Joseph Lubin had attended local public schools in the city before enrolling at Pace. With his Pace training in accounting and a law degree from New York University, Joseph Lubin went on to establish the nationwide accounting firm of Eisner and Lubin. He also served as chairman of the New York State Board of Certified Public Accountant Examiners and as a director of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. During the Second World War, Dr. Lubin was Special Deputy Chief Investigator of the War Production Board and Chairman of the Appeals Board of the New York County Selective Service. From 1961 until his death in 1983 Joseph Lubin was a member of the Pace University board of trustees. In 1955 his alma mater awarded him the honorary degree of Doctor of Commercial Science. Two years before he died, Joseph Lubin presented Pace with the largest single donation ever received from an individual, which was a land trust fund that over a fifteen-year period would amount to $7.5 million. In return for his donation and years of service to Pace University, the business school was renamed the Joseph Lubin School of Business.

During the 1970's various programs were established at the Lubin School. Qualified undergraduates were able to take advantage of BA/MBA, BS/MBA, and accelerated MBA programs. The Executive Management program was started in 1974. At that point only six other universities offered this program. The following year Pace and Polytechnic Institute formed a joint degree program. Furthermore, centers and institutes affiliated with the Lubin School, such as the Institute for Applied Research and the Small Business Development Center, were doing groundbreaking work in their respective areas.

In 1980, the Lubin School of Business Administration and the Graduate School of Business consolidated. Three years later, the combined undergraduate and graduate enrollment at the Lubin School was 12,998, the largest of any private university and exceeded only by three public universities, the University of Texas, Arizona State University, and Baruch College of New York. Newly introduced areas such as the Master's degree in Economics, the Computers in Accounting Education program and a Certified Financial Planning program were also brought to fruition.

The Lubin School of Business is among fewer than three percent of business schools internationally that have both business and accounting accreditation from AACSB International - The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, the premier accrediting organization for business schools in the world. Undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate degree programs are currently offered and they provide students with the expertise necessary for professional success. The school continues to develop new programs and has revised core courses to meet developing needs. A remarkable portfolio of international business programs, activities and resources are available to students. Corporate executives from around the world have participated in the school's Executive in Residence program. Furthermore, the Lubin School has been recognized nationally for its excellence in various business sectors. Lubin has consistently ranked among the top programs nationwide for several years. The undergraduate business program at Pace University's Lubin School of Business is ranked among the best business programs nationwide by U.S.News & World Report in its 2013 "Best Colleges" survey. Pace University was named one of the top 100 Entrepreneurial Colleges and Universities in the United States by Entrepreneur magazine for its entrepreneurship program at the Lubin School of Business. For three consecutive years of the survey, Pace's Lubin School has been ranked as one of the top 100 entrepreneurship schools and one of the top 50 regional schools. The school has certainly come a long way from the Pace & Pace partnership commenced almost a century ago.