Two members of the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems were recognized for their teaching, mentoring and positive impact among the undergraduate accounting and accounting honors programs at Fisher.

Associate Professor Ewa Sletten and Senior Lecturer Mike Easterday were named the 2021 recipients of the EY Excellence in Undergraduate Accounting Teaching Awards.

Sletten has taught several Accounting Honors courses and has made a lasting impression on the students in her three years at Fisher.

“Professor Sletten is the reason I first fell in love with accounting,” said Accounting Honors student Charles Heyd. “I came into her class with the belief that accounting was formulaic and not the career for me. Due to the great deal of effort and enthusiasm Professor Sletten devoted, I started to see that I was wrong. Professor Sletten made learning easy and accounting exciting.”

Another student, Jack Mehlberth, noted her positivity as a key factor to success: “Her personality and her enthusiasm for teaching and learning is contagious and she always motivates a positive mindset out of her students with her enthusiasm and joy.”

Easterday has taught numerous core courses and has enthusiastically embraced opportunities to expand student learning beyond the classroom. He has presented to a student group on financial wellness, worked closely with the Institute of Management Accountants on bridging teaching and practice, and serves as the faculty advisor of the Accounting Association, a student organization. He also advised the college’s first Deloitte Audit Innovation Challenge team and has led the case competition team since.

“What stands out to me in Professor Easterday’s approach is his joint emphasis on students and rigor,” said Brian Mittendorf, the Fisher Designated Professor in Accounting. “He expects a lot of students yet is also very interested in reaching out to help them meet those high expectations.”

Up to two annual awards are conferred annually with each winner receiving a plaque and a $5,000 award.