Retirees and Outstanding Faculty, Staff Recognized at End of Year Celebration

The CBA celebrated the end of another successful academic year on Monday, May 16 in the courtyard of the Faculty-Staff Center on campus. Dean Gail Naughton set the tone for the event by saying, “We are here to honor the great work of our colleagues and bid a fond farewell to the retirees who are leaving us. Each of those honored today has positively impacted the College of Business Administration and we are forever grateful for their service.”

RETIREES - The following retirees were recognized for their service:

Andrew Barnett
Andrew (Andy) Barnett is retiring after 22 years of service as a professor and eight years as Director of the San Diego State University School of Accountancy.  He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the California Society of CPA's, the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), and the other professional organizations.  He has previously held faculty positions at Virginia Tech, Arizona State University, and the University of California, San Diego.  He also worked in public accounting with PricewaterhouseCoopers and Arthur Andersen. 

Barnett enjoyed maintaining involvement with practicing accountants while pursuing his career in accounting education.  He has served on the AICPA's national CPE faculty and as a consultant for clients in public accounting and government.  In 1988, he was nationally recognized as the AICPA's Outstanding Discussion Leader.  He served for four years on the AICPA Accounting and Review Services Committee, which issues authoritative standards for CPAs compilation and review services.  He also served for seven years on the AICPA Board of Examiners, which develops and administers the CPA Examination nationwide.  “I think that my involvement with accounting practice made me a better teacher and enabled me to assure relevancy in my collaborations on intellectual contributions,” Barnett said.  He develops and teaches online accounting and auditing courses for the University of California at Berkeley Extension Online, and looks forward to continuing his online teaching during retirement. 
 
One of Barnett’s most gratifying experiences at the CBA was teaching in the School of Accountancy’s unique, integrative teaching model.  “My involvement with my colleagues in our program brought me back to my grassroots, the reason why I wanted to teach,” he said.  The innovative program was implemented in Fall 93 and has been a model for innovation in accounting education for other programs throughout the U.S.  For Barnett, it all comes back to the students experience.  “I am most proud of what our graduates say about their experience in our program. Not just when they graduate, but many years later when they contact me to say how valuable their education was.”

Barnett will continue to teach classes at the College during the spring semester as part of the faculty early retirement program. He and his wife, Carla, will spend more time looking at the stars together as they delve further into their astronomy hobby and take up residence in Flagstaff, AZ.

Chee Chow
Accounting Professor Chee Chow was identified as the second most prolific accounting researcher/author for the 34 years between 1967 and 2001, according to Advances in Accounting. He has published well over 100 journal articles, won numerous awards for his writing and serves on 10 journal editorial boards.

Chow is the holder of an A.B. degree from Dartmouth College, an MBA degree from the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth, an M.S. from the Graduate School of Management of the University of Rochester, and a Ph.D. from the University of Oregon. He has held the Vern Odmark Professorship of Accountancy at San Diego State University since 1984. Prior to that, Professor Chow taught at the University of Washington and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He also has served as visiting professor at the University of California at San Diego, the University of Hawaii, the University of Sydney, Chinese University of Hong Kong, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

In 2000-2001, Chow served as President of the American Accounting Association's Management Accounting Section, which provides leadership in the advancement of management accounting research, practice, and education. He also served a term as editor of the Section's Journal of Management Accounting Research, which is one of the premier outlets for management accounting research.

In recent years, he has taught management accounting at the MBA level, as well as offered a management accounting seminar for MS students majoring in accounting. On the research dimension, his activities have spanned many areas of accounting, including auditing, financial accounting, accounting education, taxation, and management accounting and controls. In addition, he has authored or co-authored more than 70 articles in Chinese to enhance accounting education and research in Greater China.

While in the Faculty Early Retirement Program for the next five years, Chow plans to continue an active program of scholarly activities and to continue to engage his CBA colleagues in collaborative efforts. He also plans to spend more time visiting the scenic parts of the world.

Howard Toole
Toole has taught in the School of Accountancy at SDSU since 1972 and has been associated with the Business Consulting Program (BCP, and its predecessor, the Small Business Institute) for most of that time. Currently, he is co-director of the BCP with professor Don Sciglimpaglia. Since 1992, he has been the director and is annually involved the supervision of more than 50 cases, the required culminating experience for students earning the MBA degree. "This field-based course is one of my proudest moments at the college," Toole said. "I have been committed to this form of education ever since I was introduced to it by the late Oliver Galbraith, a former SDSU professor of management."

Toole has been active in the American Accounting Association, the Decision Sciences Institute and the Small Business Institutes Directors Association (SBIDA). He has served as president of the Western DSI and Region IX of the SBIDA.

He earned his BS and MBA degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and was granted a Ph.D. by the University of Iowa. His areas of specialization are small business accounting systems, cost accounting, and accounting information systems. He has published numerous articles in both domestic and foreign journals and has been featured numerous times on San Diego radio and television.

Toole will continue to make a difference for future accounting students through the scholarship fund he established in the early 1990s. He also plans to continue teaching part-time for the next five years and looks forward to having more time for travel.

Thomas Warschauer
Thomas Warschauer has been a finance professor at SDSU since 1977. He received his BS, MS and Ph.D. from the University of Colorado at Boulder and is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP).

Warschauer provided CFP services professionally and worked as a real estate broker and treasurer, prior to joining SDSU. He is a sought-after financial planning expert for conferences, served on various panels and has appeared numerous times on radio and television. He has published multiple research articles regarding practically every aspect of financial planning. Also, he has been active in the Institute of Certified Financial Planners and the International Association of Financial Planners.

“When I began my career, there were few publication outlets for research into individual and family financial decisions,” Warschauer said. “I am most proud of being a founding member, and first president, of the Academy of Financial Services. The Academy is the leading organization that works to promote research into individual financial decision-making. It publishes The Financial Services Review, holds an annual meeting and works with industry leaders to promote the study of personal finance.”

Robert Wilbur
Robert Wilbur’s background includes experience as a university professor, consultant, and business executive.   He earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Washington in 1977.   He also received a Master’s degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of California, Riverside.   His academic interests include real estate finance and investment, corporate finance, and managerial economics.  

Wilbur served   as the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Business Administration at San Diego State University from 1998 to 2005.   Other administrative appointments include Associate Dean and Director of the Undergraduate Program and Co-Director of the California State University System Real Estate and Land Use Institute at SDSU.   He also has taught courses in real estate investment at the graduate and undergraduate levels.   His articles have appeared in journals such as: Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics and Real Estate Review.   He is a member of the American Real Estate Society, the Urban Land Institute, and the Financial Management Association.

Prior to joining the SDSU faculty, Wilbur worked in the San Diego building industry.   His positions included C.F.O. of one of the country’s largest specialty contractors and C.E.O. of a small development company specializing in commercial properties.  

FACULTY AWARDS – The following were presented with Outstanding Faculty Awards (Paraphrased from their nominations.):

Andrew Barnett
“Andy has been very dedicated and committed to the role of Director and serves to help make the School of Accountancy (SOA) a better place for both students and faculty.  His handling of this demanding and often thankless position has allowed many of us to continue to pursue our professional interests and projects, with the knowledge that the job has been in very capable and caring hands. We especially owe him a great debt of gratitude and recognition for his work in achieving re-accreditation for the SOA.”

Swaminath "Badri" Badrinath
“Badri has moved into the forefront regarding strategic planning and governance of the College of Business Administration and is very worthy of recognition.  He has been hard working, thoughtful, and insightful, as well as providing a balanced view of the many processes of the College.  Further, he is a scholar who has a strong sense of service to the College.  His work with the Steering Committee has been very helpful, as has his work with the ad hoc committee that has been gathering data to address critical issues to present to the central administration.”

Bill Baker
“Bill’s selflessness has assisted with the success of the Strategic Planning committee.   His commitment has been invaluable in getting the College of Business to the stage of having a document to send to the faculty and staff by May.   While also chairing his group, he has been a presence in weekly meetings with Dean Gail Naughton and Jim Lackritz in order to put together the final strategic plan for the college. He has devoted his services to the advancement of the college and deserves recognition.”

Chee Chow
“Chee’s work with the Steering Committee, the Professional Development Committee, various personnel decision-making committees, and the brown bags has been awe-inspiring.   Further, his scholarly performance is without equal.   Not only has he published at a remarkably productive rate, but also he has provided mentorship and co-authorship to many of his colleagues.   He has also been a mentor to many faculty regarding research, resulting in numerous publications for them.  He has been a key member of the Professional Development Committee, faithfully reading all grant proposals since the committee's existence and providing a strong benchmark from which to self-evaluate our own rankings of proposals.”

David Ely
“David has been an outstanding and key member of the Finance Department for nearly 20 years.  His research record is exceptional.  He has mentored many junior and not so junior faculty, sometimes as a co-author and sometimes by providing technical assistance.  David has been the Department's link to AMSPEC, an essential database used by nearly all of us and set up the departmental website.   He Chaired the College graduate committee for many years.  He has helped the University by playing a key role in WASC accreditation.  He has been a member of the SDSU Senate and been the Chair of its very important Constitution and Bylaws Committee. David's teaching has always been of the highest standard.”

Heather Honea
“The time and energy Heather has put forth toward the Strategic Planning committee has been tremendous.   Her commitment has been invaluable in getting the College of Business to the stage of having a document to send to the faculty and staff by May.   She did a wonderful job piecing together an extensive instrument.”

Mickey Belch
“Mickey’s time and energy put forth toward the Strategic Planning committee has been overwhelming.   He not only chaired his own group, but met weekly to put together the final strategic plan for the college.   The College would like to recognize this huge commitment.”

Gretchen Vik
“Gretchen is often thought of as Ms. Aztec because she is a devoted champion and friend of SDSU, the CBA and the writing program for our students.  Gretchen is willing to serve on committees and in positions that would go unfilled if not for faculty like her.   She cares for staff, for new faculty, for anyone that needs some attention, by bringing a card, a magazine or a yummie treat at just the right time.  She is an asset to the college and most important, a valuable and caring colleague.”

STAFF AWARDS - The following were presented with Outstanding Staff Awards (Paraphrased from their nominations.):

Angelica Bouras, Office Manager, Aztec Business Alliance
“Angelica demonstrates the epitome of hard work and diligence. She operates the Internship Bureau for the College; handles all of the support work for the Aztec Business Alliance which includes the MBA and undergraduate consulting programs; and supports the Real Estate and Land Use Institute (RELUI); and SIFE.  She provides fast, detailed, and organized work. She was the backbone behind BA 795 this past semester by organizing the kickoff event as well as the final presentations, while working very closely with the students and even setting up and administering blackboard for the class.”

Clare Ninteman-Byrd, Development Administrative
Coordinator, Dean’s Office
“Clare is a terrific resource for the College of Business Administration. At the time when both our development office and scholarship office on campus were without leaders, she has been able to keep track of our scholarships. Clare has spent a lot of extra hours tracking down scholarship donors and records and has been responsible for keeping some donors in the fold. Clare’s work has made a good impression on potential and current donors, which is important to our students who need even small grants to help with buying their books.”

Debra Bertram, Assistant Director, Executive & Specialized Programs
“Debra works hard for the college, is very dedicated, and has stepped up for staff to take on the additional responsibilities of chairing our Strategic Planning initiatives. This comes at a time when she has a new boss who is working extra hard to make a difference. I know Debra is trying hard to keep up with the changes and added responsibilities and she does so happily. On top of all this, she is putting in extra work as a student in our part time MBA program. Debra is a great example of someone who wants to make the College of Business a better place to work for all of us and she is leading by example.”

Andre Inocente, Information Technology Consultant, Dean’s Office
“Andre is a great asset to the College of Business. He responds right away to any request and tries to help in any way he can. Not only does he respond quickly, he always has a very positive attitude. He fixes the problem and then tries to educate the staff/ faculty on how to deal with certain problems on their own and how to perform certain tasks in a more efficient way.”

Nancy Kavanaugh, Graphic Designer/Web Designer, Dean’s Office
“Nancy has on a number of occasions gone beyond the call of duty and offered her services to support teaching and research activities.   The quality of her services has been outstanding and the manner in which she offered them was exceptional. Nancy has also been instrumental in the design of the new website. Students have noted that the website is more reader-friendly, easily accessible and quite thorough. She has impressed us in her ability to use technology to deliver quality customer service.   Nancy always maintains a positive attitude and is committed to the growth and development of our College.”

Wayne Ridge, Information Technology Consultant
“Wayne maintains and upgrades the computers for both faculty and staff for all five department offices, the dean’s office, and its auxiliary offices. He doesn’t hesitate to respond to questions and concerns from faculty and staff regarding computer problems, software problems, as well as information on purchasing new equipment and the latest technology. While he may seem to have a rough disposition, his mannerism is just what is needed to get the job done efficiently and effectively.”

email: business@sdsu.edu