The Woodward Alumni Hall of Fame Association
William F. Prebe Inducted 1986 - Class of 1940
William F. Prebe is vice president-economist of the Toledo-based Dana Corp., one of the nation's top industrial firms. The esteem in which he is held in his field of business economics is such that he is constantly called upon to lecture, to teach, to write, in all ways to share his mastery of the subject.
At Woodward High School, from where he was graduated in 1940, Mr. Prebe was involved in such activities as the Alchemist Society and the Latin Club. But he came out of the University of Toledo with a degree in business economics, and it is as an economist that he has achieved success. Besides earning his degree from the University of Toledo, he has attended St. Lawrence University and the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School. He served with the Navy in World War II and the Korean conflict, retiring in 1966 with 24 years of active and reserve duty.
Mr. Prebe joined Dana in 1953 and served in various sales and marketing capacities until he
became corporate economist in 1967. He was named to his present position of vice president-economist in 1976.
He is a founding member of the Automotive Market Research Council and was its 1980-81 president. He is also a charter member of the National Economists Club. His other professional memberships include the American Marketing Association, the American Statistical Association, and the National Association of Business Economists.
Mr. Prebe has served on the Federal Reserve 4th District Economists Round Table since 1968, and he contributes to the business outlook surveys of the National Bureau of Economic Research. In 1982 he was named to the economic policy committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce. He provides numerous articles for publication in trade and professional journals, is frequently interviewed on the economy and the automotive industrv, and is a regular on the speaking circuit discussing business and industry conditions.
He is an adjunct professor of business economics at the University of Toledo and at Bowling Green State University, and has participated in the specialized lecture series at the University of Illinois.
Mr. Prebe is deeply involved in Toledo community activities. He has served on the boards of the Salvation Army, Adult Rehabilitation Center, and Mental Health Center-West, and has been active with Junior Achievement and the Project Business Program.