As jazz music played and a photo montage cycled through, people were ushered into Blau Auditorium late yesterday afternoon for a ceremony to celebrate the life of Robert Koonce, director of Undergraduate Student Affairs at the Ross School of Business.

During the memorial, Koonce, who died Sunday morning, was commemorated as a “selfless” man who believed in each of his students. Koonce’s colleagues, friends and students took to the podium, describing him as a truly “larger than life man.”

Koonce graduated from the University in 1994 with a Masters of Arts degree in higher education administration and began his career at the University in 2004 as a student advisor.

He pioneered MREACH, a program that connects high school students in Detroit and Ypsilanti with the Ross School of Business. Koonce also started the Preparation Initiative, which tutors University students interested in applying to the Business School at the end of their freshman year.

Scott Moore, BBA Program Faculty Director, spoke about his favorite memories of Koonce at the event. He said though Koonce was “a pain in the behind” at times, he was always a caring, thoughtful and kind individual.

With tears in his eyes, Rackham student Zoltan Mesko, the punter for the Michigan football team, said that Koonce “changed his life” and that he simply “owed him too much.”

“He was one of the first people who took my goal of getting into the Business School seriously,” he said. “He actually believed in me and had the vision for me to graduate from Ross.”

Others who spoke at the event shared similar sentiments.

Business senior Isaiah Montgomery, who serves as vice president for the Black Business Undergraduate Society, said he “relied on Rob for support, good advice and a great sense of humor.”

Karen Bird, accounting lecturer at the Business School, said Koonce was a “man on a mission” who would do anything for his students.

“The door would be built, he would go through, turn around and invite everyone to come in and take advantage of all the opportunities on the other side,” she said.

To close the celebration, Bob Dolan, dean of the Business School, announced that the Robert Koonce-endowed scholarship would be established at the University so “we can remember Rob in the community.”

At a reception held afterward, guests remembered the vivacious and fun-loving Koonce. His friends shared that he was an avid football fan, extremely proud of his garden and Koi pond, and loved to barbeque. Many people who attended the event wrote notes and signed their names in a memory book to be presented to his wife.

Koonce’s neighbor, Jacqueline Scott, said Koonce "loved people” and “everybody knew Robert.”

“I had no idea that Robert had touched so many lives until I was in there today and I listened to the students and I listened to his colleagues speak about him,” she said. “It brought tears to my eyes.”

Moore said Koonce was always making him think, walking into his office with new ideas for the University.

“It wasn’t his job, he made it his job. He just cared,” Moore said.

Eddie Hall, a student in the Master of Accounting program and an MREACH program coordinator, said Koonce was a truly unforgettable person.

“Rob’s presence will never be replaced, but his legacy will live on in all of us,” he said.

Moore said Koonce would be remembered by his defining qualities, especially his tough love.

“If you want to honor his memory, you will remember this, you will remember him kicking your behind when you needed it, saying something nice, and then kicking your behind again,” Moore said. “Eventually you came to realize he was right and he only did it because he cared. So honor his memory and fulfill the unlimited potential … this is why Rob was here, this is what we have to do to keep him alive in us today.”