LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
TERRY WARFIELD PwC Professor in Accounting at the Wisconsin School of Business and Chair of the Department of Accounting and Information Systems
Welcome to The Badger Account 2014. We have lots of news to report! I hope you’ll enjoy catching up and following the happenings in the department by checking out our website: bus.wisc.edu/knowledge-expertise/academicdepartments/accounting In our continuing effort to support the mission of the Wisconsin School of Business at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to provide premium learning experiences to our students, we conducted a comprehensive curriculum review. We articulated our outcomes around the themes of knowledge, doing, being, inspiring, and networking (KDBINTM). Our execution on these elements was clearly demonstrated: in the curriculum (knowing); our cocurricular activities like the Future Is Now, the Ethics and Professionalism Program, case competitions, and internships (doing, being, inspiring, and networking); our active student groups (being and networking); and our active engagement with alumni (networking).
$25,000 GRANT
Using a $25,000 grant from PwC, we developed an innovative capstone course that allows students to complete a module-based, three-credit class over the course of a full graduate year. And a major grant from EY has allowed us to launch a set of curricular and co-
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curricular elements within the Global Mindset Leaders Program, designed to introduce students to cultural and social diversity in business. There have been some transitions and important recognitions in the department this past year.
• We had another successful recruiting year, hiring four new faculty (Dereck Barr, Emily Griffith, Dan Lynch, and Logan Steele) to bolster our research and teaching ranks in the audit, financial reporting, and tax areas. • Senior Lecturer Tom Tierney (BBA ’72) retired after 15+ years of outstanding service in our tax and financial reporting curriculum areas. The faculty recognized Tom’s contributions by awarding him emeritus status. With Tom’s departure, lecturers Lindsay Acker (BBA ’04, MAcc ’05) and Russell Epp have increased their teaching contributions. • Professor Brian Mayhew (BBA ’89) was promoted to full professor and named the Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor in recognition of his teaching, research, and service contributions. Well done, Brian! • Professor Stacie Laplante (who joined the faculty in 2013) was promoted to associate professor with tenure. In recognition of her contributions in the tax field, Stacie was named the David J. Lesar Chair in Accounting. • Kristen Fuhremann received the School of Business Outstanding Academic Staff Teaching Award. • We earned a top-three position in CPA exam pass rates and first place (for programs with 15 or fewer faculty, 17th overall) in Public Accounting Report’s ranking of master’s programs.