In an awards ceremony held on April 30, Accountancy Department Chair Anne Farrell was honored as Accountancy Alumnus of the Year by the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame, where she earned her B.B.A. in Accountancy. The ceremony was attended by Notre Dame’s student award winners, faculty and staff, and Accountancy Advisory Board members.
During her speech, Farrell described how she initially resisted going to Notre Dame, her accountant father’s alma mater, believing she wanted a big-city experience. Having grown up falling asleep to the sounds of the adding machine and typewriter during tax season, she vowed never to become an accountant, but an engineer instead.
After listening to the advice of several mentors, however, including then-university president Father Theodore Hesburgh, accountancy professor Ken Milani, and marketing professor John Malone, Farrell soon found herself going back to her roots at Notre Dame and majoring in accounting after all—a decision that, in the end, was the right one for her.
Photo by Jennifer Mayo/University of Notre Dame
As she reflected on her journey, Farrell stressed the importance of listening when people tell you what they see in you. She clarified, “I am not saying you should be the person someone else wants you to be. I am saying you need to stay open to changing your own vision of what you want to be when you grow up…My hope is that you never think you are all the way grown up.”
She also stressed the importance of listening to your gut when it tells you to “take smart risks,” describing her challenges as she finally made it to the big city, working for Deloitte in New York, and then taking the chance to focus on the media industry and teach at American University. She then took “the biggest risk of all” by leaving behind a lucrative career and going to Michigan State University to get her PhD.
Her speech ended with a charge to the audience: Speak up—when imposter syndrome is trying to get the best of you; by treating every person with dignity and respect; and by giving back and mentoring others, a reminder that success is not just about achievement, but about lifting others up along the way.
Farrell has taught at Miami University since 2011, serving as the Accountancy Department Chair since 2024. For her bio, visit her Faculty Profile page.