Letter from the Chair
Friends, the new academic year is in full swing, and boy, have we roared into the fall! Just a few tidbits of what I mean:
- In the 2027 U.S. News rankings of the Best National Universities, our accountancy program leapt in at #23 among National Public Universities and #52 overall.
- Enrollments in our major are up 65 percent since the spring of 2022.
- In the last admissions cycle, applications to the accountancy major almost doubled compared to 2022.
As I’ve told many people, when you do the right things, great things follow. I’m so proud that we’re doing all the right things.
Do me two favors—celebrate alongside us, and jump into all the great stories we’re sharing about students who are already proving themselves as leaders; alums who’ve taken the world by storm; and our team here in Oxford who are publishing fascinating research and developing new materials for their courses.
Here are a few other tidbits of what’s happening here.
- We welcomed three wonderful new faculty to our team this fall – Nathan Jenkins, Brent Schmidt, and Li Yang. Read about them in one of the articles! We’ll soon be starting a search for another new faculty member who’ll join us next fall.
- Thanks to a grant from PwC, we’re piloting a new program to support students in their quest to take some parts of the CPA exam before they graduate.
- Our placement rates for graduates are still close to 100%!
- Three students were named PCAOB Scholars this year, with each receiving a $15,000 scholarship.
- The department participated in the university’s “AI in the Majors” initiative, with faculty thinking through how to incorporate the appropriate and ethical use of AI into their courses. In particular, they are emphasizing how human judgment can be used alongside – not instead of – AI, and that there is no substitute for skills like collaboration, communication, critical thinking, and professional skepticism.
- We hosted students from several area high schools at a recent Miami/Ohio Society of CPAs Career Day, with several Accountancy Advisory Group members, alums, and students sharing their perspectives on “why accountancy” and “why Miami accountancy.”
- And we know how to have fun, too! Faculty, staff and their families cheered on the Redhawks together at the Miami-Cincinnati football game at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati!
We could not do what we do without you! Thank you to all who supported the department during #MoveInMiami! We far surpassed our goal, raising more than $27,000 that we’ll use to support students’ experiences in and out of the classroom and professional development for faculty and staff.
Now your support can go even further. Through December 31, 2028, an anonymous Farmer School of Business donor is providing a 1-to-1 match on all qualifying cash gifts of $5,000 to $2.5 million – doubling your impact, and the part you play in the stories we get to share.
Love & Honor,
Anne Farrell
PwC Professor and Chair
Department of Accountancy
Farmer School of Business