The College of Business is pleased to announce that Deborah Seifert has accepted the offer to serve the Department of Accounting as chairperson beginning July 1, 2017. She has served as the interim chair of the department since July 1, 2015.

Seifert is a highly respected faculty member with an outstanding record of balanced teaching, research, and service. She has been an active member of the Department of Accounting serving as a faculty advisor for two student organizations, a member of the DFSC, Newsletter Committee, Curriculum Committee, Assessment Committee, and several faculty search committees. She has served the College of Business as a member of the College’s Constituent Satisfaction Team. Seifert has also made significant contributions to the accounting profession through her work as a member of the American Accounting Association (AAA) and through her involvement with national and regional accounting conferences. Through her service activities, Seifert has demonstrated a collaborative and inclusive leadership style.

Seifert has a strong research portfolio that includes 13 refereed publications in the last five years. Her publications have appeared in a variety of journals, including in one of the top journals in her field.  She has published articles in Accounting, Organizations and Society, Advances in Accounting Education, Behavioral Research in Accounting, Journal of Accounting Education, Journal of Forensic Accounting, The CPA Journal, The Journal of Accountancy, The Journal of Insurance and Regulation, and Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting.  She has an equally impressive teaching record and was named the Student Accounting Society Professor of the Year in 2013.

Seifert will be responsible for providing leadership to the Department of Accounting. Although the chairperson has many duties, priorities will include: maintaining the Department’s separate AACSB accounting accreditation; upholding the image and reputation of the department; hiring, developing, and supporting faculty; facilitating curricular initiatives; overseeing Department programs to attract, cultivate, and retain students in the department; maintaining relationships with the department’s stakeholders; and helping move the College of Business forward as a member of the College’s Leadership Team.

She received her Ph.D. in accounting from Washington State University in 2006, holds an MACC from the University of Georgia, an MBA from Mississippi State University, and a bachelor’s degree in accountancy from the University of Illinois. Her teaching areas are cost and managerial accounting theory. Seifert’s research interests are accounting ethics and whistle blowing.

Seifert is a CPA and a CMA and has over 10 years of work experience in both public and private accounting. Seifert has worked for Clifton Gunderson LLP (now CLA), Outboard Marine Corporation, and Weyerhaeuser.