Accounting Annual Report Fall 2021: Letter from the Chair
Bradley Lail
As I prepared my thoughts for this year's annual report, I reviewed my letter from last year. A primary topic was discussing the dramatic shift that took place in learning during the spring 2020 semester due to the pandemic. The sudden shift did not allow us time to prepare, so as we began the 2020-21 school year, we had a chance to re-assess how to create a positive learning environment despite the persistent limitations due to masking and social distancing. While a tremendous disruption, we were able to create new opportunities that helped our students excel, and I call it a success because of the great flexibility and work ethic of the faculty in the Department of Accounting and Business Law.
Due to the pandemic, many of the events we have highlighted previously could not happen this past year. These were opportunities to visit with our alumni, students and corporate partners, so we greatly missed those but look forward to having them return in the coming year. An important addition to this year's report is some personal reflections shared by three of our long-serving faculty members that are retiring during this current school year. Suzanne Abbe, Becky Jones, and Betsy Wills have combined to give us over 100 years of excellent teaching while impacting the lives of so many of our students. I am sure many of you were a product of their efforts. I encourage you to reach out to them and say a quick hello before they leave.
As we move forward, our discipline continues to evolve at a pace that can be challenging to keep up within the classroom. We have made great developments with our data and analytics focus throughout the curriculum. Almost all of what we do in the graduate program centers around the use of data and how to prepare and analyze it as part of the decision-making process. Our goal has always been to develop critical thinkers, and we have placed greater emphasis on developing this mindset that accompanies their developing analytical skills. Future leaders must possess a combination of these skills to impact their organizations, and we are confident that our curriculum is well-positioned to do so.
An accompanying strategic focus has been on students "Exploring the Possibilities" in their professional journey. The accounting profession is thriving in some ways, but the attractiveness of the major is in decline across the country. We believe we play an important role in attracting high-quality students to the major and have done so successfully with events like the Accounting Extravaganza. We have added this Explore the Possibilities branding to communicate the unlimited opportunities that come from an accounting degree, and we have involved many of you to help us tell that story. As you think of the challenges in our profession, if there are ways to help further, we always welcome new and creative ideas. Our success will benefit all of you.
I hope you find this year's report informative. We are putting our best efforts towards impacting the discipline, developing well-prepared students, and creating an environment where students can explore the possibilities that an accounting degree provides them.
