Director and Professor School of Accounting

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Position Summary:

The College of Business (COB) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) invites applicants for the position of Director of the School of Accounting (equivalent to a Chair). FAU is classified as a high research activity, doctoral-granting institution (R2), and has met the conditions for the R1 classification starting in 2025. The College of Business is AACSB accredited, and the university has SACS accreditation. The School of Accounting (SOA) is not separately accredited by the AACSB.

The Director of the School of Accounting reports to the Dean of the College of Business.

The following are the duties of the Director:

• Set the standards of intellectual engagement and accomplishment for the school; ensure that the school is run professionally, responsibly, and effectively; and support faculty, staff, and students so they can perform to their highest potential.
• Manage all aspects of daily operations of the school and its traditional programs on the Boca and Davie campuses.
• Coordinate with executive program staff to oversee admission and staffing of the Accounting Executive programs.
• Develop and govern the use of school’s resources, including spending within the frameworks set by college and university policy and in collaboration with the College of Business Assistant Dean of Finance and Operations.
• Promote tenure-track and non-tenure track faculty excellence through recruitment, supervision, mentoring and development, and evaluation of merit for promotion and tenure. The director is also responsible for the management and development of the school’s staff and graduate assistants.
• Represent the school, college, and university to external constituencies and engage with businesses and the community to develop effective partnerships that benefit the school, faculty, and students.
• Recruiting participants for the School of Accounting Advisory Councils and conducting meetings of these groups.
• Participate collaboratively with the FAU Foundation and appoint officers to external fundraising efforts on behalf of the college and the school.
• Conduct the school’s strategic planning, produce annual reports, and manage the record keeping and reporting requirements for institutional analysis and for AACSB and SACS accreditations, and participate in accreditation maintenance and review processes.
• Lead recruiting and retention efforts of students and majors, promote accounting programs to potential students, and engage alumni.
• Participate in teaching (1-1 teaching load), service to the university and stakeholder communities, and research and scholarly activities.

Aspirational

• Increase accounting enrollment.
• Improve national ranking of the accounting program.
• Raise money to create named professorships.
• Name the School of Accounting.
• Increase the number and quality of doctoral program applicants.
• Improve the school’s research profile.
• Oversee an innovative curriculum that meets the changing needs of a dynamic profession.

Questions about these positions may be addressed to the Accounting Recruiting Committee, Dr. Julia Higgs, Chairperson, email: jhiggs@fau.edu.

Background Information on FAU, COB, School of Accounting and South Florida

FAU was opened in September 1964 by President Lyndon Johnson making it the fifth state funded university. The main campus is in Boca Raton, Florida situated in the southern part of Palm Beach County, closely adjacent to Broward County. Today, FAU is one of eleven public universities in Florida. In the early years, FAU offered only upper division classes for students who earned associate degrees from community colleges. Over the years, FAU grew to offer 4-year undergraduate degrees, masters’ degrees, and doctoral degrees. FAU welcomed its first medical school class in 2011. A NCAA Division 1 football program was started in 2001, and FAU was in the Men’s NCAA Final Four Basketball tournament in 2023. FAU has six campus locations: Boca Raton, Davie, Fort Lauderdale (Architectural program), Jupiter (Honors College), Fort Pierce (Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute), and Dania Beach (Sea Tech). In addition to offering business classes on its Boca Raton campus, classes are also offered on its Davie campus in Broward County, near Fort Lauderdale.

Enrollment at FAU in Fall 2024 exceeded 33,000 students. FAU is often cited for having one of the most diverse student bodies in the country with students from over 50 countries. The College of Business has an enrollment of over 9,000 students, making it one of the 15 largest AACSB-accredited business colleges in the country. About half of the undergraduate students transfer to FAU from area state colleges (Broward College and Palm Beach State College) after receiving an Associate of Arts degree. The School of Accounting (SOA) offers degrees at the undergraduate, master’s and doctoral levels and a combined BBA and M.AC. degree as part of an honors program. In addition to a traditional Master of Accountancy, through our executive education program, the SOA offers a Master of Accountancy with multiple concentrations and a Master of Tax. We also provide support classes for the MBA program. Fall 2024 enrollments in the accounting undergraduate program are 805 students, 42 in the traditional M.AC. and MTX programs, 294 in the Executive M.AC and MTAX programs, and 9 in the doctoral program. We currently have about 40 doctoral alumni.

The College of Business Executive Program has 1,600 students and is ranked the #2 executive program in the country. Through executive education, the college has partnerships with NextEra (parent of Florida Power and Light), JM Family (largest Toyota Dealer in the Country) and Office Depot. Prominent programs in the college include Entrepreneurship, Sports Management, and Hospitality, among others.

The SOA has 12 tenure track faculty, 7 instructors and 26 adjuncts. Business law classes are offered through the SOA. FAU was ranked 63rd in the Brigham Young Accounting Program Research Rankings in August 2024.

Boca Raton is located between Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach, Florida. The campus is 1.8 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The South Florida Metropolitan area, which includes Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, has a population of about six million people and offers a rich array of water, beach, sporting, and cultural activities. It boasts some of the best shopping and restaurants in the country. There are three major international airports within 50 miles of Boca Raton in addition to a busy private airport next to FAU’s main campus. High speed train service is also available to Orlando. The School District of Palm Beach County, the 10th largest school district in the United States, has received an A rating by the State of Florida. Boca Raton is in a subtropical zone with an average of 231 sunny days a year. The year-round average temperature is 75 degrees. Florida has no state income tax.

Over 150 public companies are headquartered in the South Florida Metropolitan Area such as NextEra Energy, ODP (Office Depot) Corporation, Watsco, Cross Country Healthcare, and Chewy. West Palm Beach, located about 25 miles north, has been dubbed the Wall Street of the South because of the numerous financial institutions located nearby. All the Big 4 accounting firms, Grant Thornton, Marcum, BDO, Crowe, and RSM have offices in the area. In addition, there are several large regional and local CPA firms that actively recruit FAU students.

The College of Business at Florida Atlantic University seeks scholars who are committed to supporting the learning needs of students from diverse backgrounds and to thoughtfully engaging all communities in higher education. Florida Atlantic University embodies a culture of strategic and collaborative community engagement that results in mutual benefit to the institution and the various internal and external communities that it serves.

Minimum Qualifications:

(1) Demonstrated record of exceptional collegiality and ability to work collaboratively.
(2) An earned doctorate in accounting or a related field from an AACSB accredited or an R1 university.
(3) CPA credential (preferred).
(3) Scholarly credentials that merit appointment at the rank of tenured, full professor at an R1 research university. The applicant must have a sustained research record reflected by works published in top-ranked journals in the discipline. FAU policy indicates “promotion to the rank of Professor is recognition of demonstrated achievement and distinction over the span of an individual's academic career, with evidence of longstanding leadership and substantial contributions both within and outside the university.”
(4) Significant teaching experience with demonstrated teaching excellence.
(5) Academic administrative leadership experience. This can include a variety of roles that demonstrate experience with tasks such as innovation in new program development; financial management; curriculum management and scheduling; industry/community engagement efforts; assess