Contact: Michelle De Jean, Northern Illinois University
1(815) 753-8522
March 25, 2008
KPMG Professor of Accountancy Pam Smith recognized for her contributions in education
DeKalb, Ill., March 25, 2008 The Northern Illinois University (NIU) College of Business today announced Pam Smith, KPMG Professor of Accountancy, was named the Illinois CPA Society's 2008 Educator of the Year for her leadership and contributions to the Certified Public Accountants (CPA) profession. The Illinois CPA Society's selection of Pam Smith as the 2008 Educator of the Year is a testament to her talents, abilities and track record as a teacher and mentor, said Denise Schoenbachler, dean of the NIU College of Business. Pam not only plays a big role in the success of the Accountancy program her contributions reflect the larger commitment of the college to support the profession and help bridge accounting education and practice.
The Illinois CPA Society's Outstanding Educator Award recognizes Illinois educators at a community college, college or university who excel in their leadership and teaching and who have made continuous and outstanding contributions to accounting education in Illinois. The Illinois CPA Society is a state professional association representing 23,000 accounting, finance and business professionals throughout Illinois and worldwide.
"KPMG International Chairman Tim Flynn recently challenged the profession and academia to work together to bring the classroom into the profession and the profession into the classroom. Pam Smith represents a great role model for this process by serving as a KPMG professor on campus and serving as one of an elite group of highly-rated professors who also teach in KPMG's classrooms. Pam has been very successful in helping students bridging classroom theory and practice," said Manny Fernandez, KPMG National Managing Partner of University Relations and Recruiting.
Pam Smith joined Northern Illinois University in January 1994. A recipient of a named professorship, Smith is currently the KPMG Professor of Accountancy at NIU. She earned her undergraduate degree in Accountancy from Ferris State University, her master's in business administration from the University of Texas at Dallas and her doctorate from the University of North Texas.
NIU's Accountancy program widely known for its long-standing and active involvement in the profession has a strong reputation of excellence in both the accounting and finance fields, as well as in academic circles. The NIU College of Business undergraduate Accountancy program ranked in the top 20 nationally for each of the last 19 years by Public Accounting Report, a major trade publication for the accounting industry. In its 2006 annual survey of accounting programs and for the second year in a row, Public Accounting Report ranks the NIU undergraduate Accountancy program 11th in the nation and its graduate Accountancy program tenth in the nation.
Smith is the latest in a long line of NIU College of Business educators to receive the Illinois CPA Society Educator of the Year award. Previous recipients include NIU Accountancy members Don Kieso (Professor Emeritus, award recipient in 1988), Pat Delaney (Professor Emeritus, award recipient in 1991), Richard Baker (Professor Emeritus, award recipient in 1993), and Debra Hopkins (Director, NIU CPA Review Program, award recipient in 1997).
Editor's note: A photo of Pam Smith is available upon request.
The Illinois CPA Society, founded in 1903, is the fifth largest state CPA Society in the nation, with more than 22,700 members. It is the only professional organization that represents CPAs in Illinois. During its more than 100 years of existence, the Society has advanced the highest ethical and financial standards of the profession, and has been a leader in educating the public on financial issues.
Northern Illinois University's College of Business enjoys a national reputation for the quality of its programs, faculty, and graduates. Degree programs in the NIU business college combine business fundamentals, thought-leadership and an entrepreneurial mindset to provide students with a clear understanding of the challenges businesses face in a rapidly changing global business environment. Both BusinessWeek and U.S.News and World Report rank the college among the best undergraduate business schools in the nation. For the second consecutive year (2006 07), Crain's Chicago Business ranked the college's M.B.A. program among the top Chicago area M.B.A. programs. Fully accredited by the nation's foremost accreditation unit, AACSB International (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the college has achieved continuous AACSB International accreditation since 1969, placing it among the top schools of business in all three ranking categories: Undergraduate, Graduate, and Accountancy. The NIU College of Business was founded in 1961 and moved into its state-of-the-art facility, Barsema Hall, in 2002. It also offers classes at NIU campuses in Naperville, Hoffman Estates, and Rockford. For more information on the NIU College of Business, visit www.cob.niu.edu.
The Northern Illinois University is a full member of the University Research Association (URA), a unique group of top public and private research universities that includes Harvard, MIT, Princeton, and Yale; among only four percent of all U.S. colleges and universities listed in The Carnegie Foundation's most productive category: "doctoral/research university-extended;" a member of the nation's most prestigious public higher education association, The National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; and, home of a new scientific center dedicated to research with Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, one of the world's premier high-energy physics research laboratory.
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