DEAR ACCOUNTING LONGHORNS:
The McCombs School, under the leadership of newly appointed Dean Jay Hartzell and Senior Associate Dean Eric Hirst, is in the process of examining its strategic plan – including faculty composition, curricula, alumni engagement, and branding. I will be writing about developments in each of these areas in future issues. The main focus of this letter is the Department’s report to the Deans about our faculty.

The primary goal of this review is to direct our efforts toward building academic excellence that enhances our national and global standing. The first step in this process was to conduct a detailed review of our faculty that included inventories of current teaching and research expertise, forecasted faculty retirements, and proposed recruiting plans. Retaining and recruiting faculty whose teaching and research obtains global recognition for excellence is a prerequisite for everything we have and hope to accomplish.

The good news is that our faculty are well regarded, in both teaching and research dimensions. As you are all aware, our BBA, MPA, and PhD programs have consistently received #1 ranking from the Public Accounting Report. In addition, our students have one of the highest pass rates on the CPA exam, and almost 100% are employed or have job offers at the time of graduation. While we know that our programs attract talented and hard-working students, we are confident that some of the success of our students is due to what they have learned in our classrooms.

On the dimension of research, we used the Brigham Young (BYU) database on research publications to evaluate faculty productivity. Over the past five and ten years, our faculty ranked 1st in academic publications in top-five accounting research journals. Our faculty regularly receive recognition for their research accomplishments, both from their peers and the accounting profession, and their research and teaching excellence have also resulted in their participation in the accounting standard setting process.

Significant challenges face us in maintaining and improving our teaching and research profile in the coming years. In addition to the recent retirements of Professors Deitrick and Kinney, we anticipate 25% of our remaining tenure-track faculty will retire within five years. While we will be challenged to replace faculty in all teaching areas and in all research methods, we are off to a good start. This past year, we hired two new assistant professors: Nick Hallman (University of Missouri) and Ronghuo Zheng (Carnegie Mellon University). Robert Davidson (University of Chicago and Georgetown University) will teach financial accounting at UT as a visiting assistant professor. We have also added several new instructional faculty this year: Megan Allen (UT MPA and CPA at Wood, Johnson, Heath, P.C.), Steve Goodson (CIA and former Chief Internal Auditor for the University of North Texas System), Steve Moore (CPA and former partner in EY’s National Professional Practice Division) and John McGuire (former finance director at Pfizer, Inc.). Inside, you will find introductions to Nick and Ronghuo, more faculty news, photos from Dr. Kinney’s retirement banquet as well as a remembrance of Dr. Charlie Griffin, who taught in the Department 1962-87.

This year, we welcome new Advisory Council members Stephen Dabney and Mitch Riley, who are replacing Craig Allen and Bud Geisinger (all current or former KPMG partners) and Rene Hernandez (Managing Director of Protiviti Dallas). Many thanks to Craig and Bud for contributing their years of wise counsel and support to our faculty, students, and programs.

In closing, on behalf of the faculty, staff, and students, I extend our sincere thanks for alumni gifts and alumni participation. Contributions of your time and talent enhance all aspects of our work. Your financial support provides scholarships that enable us to attract outstanding students to our programs and research stipends that are essential to attracting and retaining a world-class faculty. The faculty appreciate hearing from their former students and look forward to seeing you on campus.