Mr. Eugene (Gene) L. Delves

A computer pioneer, he was one of five men who started the organization that is today known as Accenture. In 1954, the Univac computer processed the payroll for the new General Electric Appliance Park near Louisville, Kentucky, and the five men behind it were young employees of Arthur Andersen's administrative service division. His efforts, along with the other four marked the first successful installation and use of a computer in the industry - an extraordinarily important achievement that was fundamental in launching the computing industry as we know it today. And, not insignificantly, those five men were the beginning of an organization that would become The Consulting Division of Arthur Andersen, then Andersen Consulting and today Accenture: a 22Billion dollar Corporation, with 225, 000 employees serving clients in 120 countries. The Univac is now housed at the Smithsonian Institute. Born in Chicago, he graduated as Valedictorian from Fenger High School in 1945 but his college career was delayed when he entered the Army Air Corps. After the service he began his undergraduate studies at DePauw graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in Economics in 1950. Two years later, he earned both an M.B.A. degree from Northwestern University and a CPA degree from the University of Illinois. He was a DePauw University Life Trustee and former chair of DePauw's Board of Trustees. After the successful Univac project, he went on to enjoy a full career at Andersen, making Partner in 1963. Before retiring from Andersen in 1987, he held many positions in senior leadership and worked on 6 continents. Upon his retirement from the company, he served as Chief Operating Officer of Saatchi Consulting, and from 1990-1997, served in various consulting capacities with Unisys and AT&T. He was active in the Illinois CPA Society and served as its President in 1983. Engaged in his community, he served as an officer on the Boards of the Beverly Area Planning Association, Ridge Historical Society, Smith Senior Living, Methodist Youth Services, Center for Parish Development, and Garrett Theological Seminary. A Rector Scholar at DePauw, he was a member of DePauw's Board of Trustees for more than 30 years and received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree from the University, as well as the Old Gold Goblet (1992) and an Alumni Citation (1973). Over the years, he aided his alma mater in a number of capacities: serving on the Executive Committee of the Sesquicentennial Committee and the Campaign for DePauw, and as a reunion year and Annual Fund volunteer, among other things. He was also known for leading historic tours of East College. His and his wife?s generosity created the Eugene L. and Sue H. Delves Merit Scholarship at DePauw.