Message From Karen Hennes, Director
The 2021 year has been quite a roller coaster, and we were cautiously excited to welcome students back for the fall semester. Nearly all undergraduate classes returned in person at full capacity, and Adams Hall began to buzz again. Some events involving outside guests or large groups remained virtual, especially at the start of the semester, but things are slowly returning. We celebrate each time we can reconnect in person again, and we hope to enjoy a deferred School of Accounting Awards Banquet with students and supporters in late spring.
Even as campus life resumes, some things will never return to the old normal. The pandemic has accelerated changes in higher education and business work environments: In fall 2021, total enrollment in our online MAcc surpassed enrollment in our residential B.B.A/MAcc program for the first time, and many of our largest employers are adopting hybrid or remote work plans indefinitely. Students face both new opportunities and new challenges in these settings, and we must evolve to support them.
Over the past year, the Price College of Business has engaged in comprehensive strategic planning efforts. In the coming year, the School of Accounting will work to assess the ways in which we best fit and support that plan and the college’s new directions while continuing to nurture our historic strengths. Through it all, we are grateful for the support of our engaged alumni and the new and longtime employers of our students.
As we come to the end of the fall semester, please enjoy semester news and highlights from School of Accounting students and faculty below. I wish you all a wonderful holiday season, and we hope to see even more of you on campus again in the New Year.
Director, Steed School of Accounting
Associate Professor and W. K. Newton Chair of Accounting