Welcome to the Spring 2020 edition of the AMIS Department Newsletter. I am excited to bring you news of the successes and challenges faced by our faculty, staff and students this year.

Last September, when I began my role as department chair, I did not know the challenges we would soon face! But I’m grateful for a wonderful department that has risen to meet them.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a move to online teaching, research and service that has been unprecedented in the speed in which it was rolled out. All spring classes were switched to online delivery following spring break, and the university has announced that summer classes will also be delivered online with a decision on fall classes forthcoming. Thanks to the hard work of Fisher’s IT team and the cooperation and flexibility by faculty and staff, we have worked to minimize as much disruption to our students’ education as possible.

Faculty and their teaching assistants have switched to online office hours and tutoring sessions to help students, displaying a commitment to tomorrow’s accounting leaders that is unparalleled. Earlier this semester, I was pleased to announce that Assistant Professor Patrick Kielty received the 2020 EY Undergraduate Teaching Award. I thank all of our instructors for their extraordinary efforts to provide our students with the skills and knowledge they need to excel in their careers.

Fortunately, the virus has not prevented our students from moving forward and beginning their careers accounting. We said a virtual congratulations to YY undergraduate accounting students and 56 MAcc students this year. We look forward to officially recognizing the Class of 2020 and our newest alumni at an in-person event when it is safe to celebrate together as a community. These newest members to our alumni family join an already-incredibly talented and accomplished group of accounting professionals. For example, Mackenzie Hitchcock (MAcc ’19) was one of 113 individuals nationwide honored with the Elijah Watt Sells award for exemplary performance on the CPA exam.

There were no PhD students graduating this year but two new students will join our five current students this summer. One of those current students, Daniel Yang, was a recipient of a prestigious Deloitte Foundation Doctoral Fellowship this year. Only 12 of these fellowships are awarded nationwide each year. Daniel received t this is the sixth fellowship received by an Ohio State PhD student in the past eight years. This success is a tribute to Andrew Van Buskirk who directs our PhD program and the many faculty who work closely with our PhD students.

Our faculty continue to move ahead with producing and sharing research. Adapting to our new circumstances, assistant professor Rachel Geoffroy recently presented a

research workshop at the University of Illinois via Zoom. Video calls are also replacing in-person conferences. While they are never as good as conferences that allow personal and group interactions, we are using them to stay close to our colleagues around the world.

I close with my profound thanks for all of the alumni, friends and industry professionals whose time and resources make it possible for our department to fulfill our commitment to tomorrow’s accounting leaders. We are thinking of you during these difficult times. We look forward to a time in the future when we can connect more personally. Until then, thank you for all you do and Go Bucks!

Best,

Darren Roulstone
Chair, Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems
John W. Berry, Sr. Fund for Faculty Excellence Professor of Accounting