Tahira Hira, emeritus professor of personal finance and consumer economics, died Dec. 4 after a long illness. Tahira served Iowa State University for more than 30 years as a faculty member and university administrator until her retirement in 2014.
Tahira Hira
Recognized internationally for her research in family financial management, investing, consumer credit, bankruptcy, the borrowing behavior of college students and gambling, Tahira was a highly sought-after expert and consultant. She published more than 100 articles, made hundreds of presentations worldwide and served on numerous state and national committees and boards, including President George W. Bush's Advisory Council on Financial Literacy, the NYSE committee on financial literacy, and the Iowa Student Loan Board.
At Iowa State, Tahira was active in undergraduate and graduate teaching and research. She was the founder of Iowa State's Financial Counseling Clinic, the first-of-its-kind in the nation research and teaching laboratory. She developed a financial counseling option at the undergraduate level and taught several courses and programs in personal finance. She served as a major professor for 30 Ph.D. and M.S. candidates, supervised three postdoctoral fellows and sat as a member of 43 programs of study committees.
Tahira's administrative leadership positions included serving as associate vice provost for extension (1998-2002), executive assistant to President Gregory Geoffroy (2002-12) and senior policy advisor to President Steven Leath (2012-14).
Tahira and her husband, Labh, also have been philanthropic leaders at Iowa State. They generously supported projects and programs, including the Roger P. Murphy Professorship in Accounting, a named space in the Gerdin Business Building, women's athletics and numerous funds within the Ivy College of Business and the College of Health and Human Sciences.
In accordance with her wishes, no memorial service is planned. The Iowa State University community joins Labh in remembering his beloved wife, Tahira.
