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The Robinson College of Business seeks an exceptional leader and accounting scholar to serve as the next director of its School of Accountancy. The director will articulate a vision and strategy for distinguishing Georgia State as a pre-eminent school of accounting for the digital age. The director will champion the School of Accountancy’s mission; inspire students, staff, and faculty to enhance Robinson’s transformative contributions to innovation in business and society; and broadcast the school’s impact on global, national, and local communities.

The ideal candidate will be an accomplished, energetic, and collaborative leader who will champion the School of Accountancy’s commitment to excellence, engage with the community, and lead with passion aligned with the college’s core values of Openness, Solidarity, and Impact. They should have strong skills in mentoring and management as well as the ability to guide faculty, staff and alumni to create and implement a strategic vision and to raise funds in support of that vision. A doctoral or terminal degree in a related field and scholarly achievement commensurate with a tenured appointment at the rank of professor is preferred. Candidates presenting with alternative credentials and excellent leadership capabilities will also be considered.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF ACCOUNTANCY

The successful applicant will join a school whose faculty and staff are committed to innovative teaching; diverse, equitable, and inclusive excellence; and interdisciplinary collaboration. Faculty publish in premier journals in managerial, auditing, and financial accounting. Programmatic innovations have included an emphasis on data analytics, online content, and professional norms. Academic programs include the BBA undergraduate program, a Masters in Professional Accountancy, a Masters in Taxation, an MBA with an accounting concentration, and a PhD program in Accounting. This fall, the school launched its Master of Taxation as one of the first fully online degree programs in college history. The research environment for the School of Accountancy is rich and varied. In the Brigham Young University Accounting Rankings, the SOA ranks 12th internationally in managerial accounting, 14th in experimental methods, 3rd for the use of experimental methods in managerial accounting, and 8th in accounting education research.

The School of Accountancy is a constituent academic unit in the Center for the Economic Analysis of Risk (CEAR). Risk is studied in many academic disciplines including economics, finance, accounting, risk management, engineering, operations research, psychology, and public health. A multi-college collaborative, CEAR seeks to leverage the development of a dialogue between researchers and policy makers to arbitrage differences in knowledge across these areas.

In 2015, Robinson launched the Institute for Insight as a new academic unit focused on data science and analytics applications in business. The Institute carries out its mission by hiring faculty researchers with PhDs in computer science, software engineering, and data science and inviting them to collaborate with researchers in traditional disciplinary areas of business. The School of Accountancy has infused data analytics throughout its BBA, MPA, MTx and PhD curricula to prepare students for data-rich professional environments.

The School of Accountancy enjoys close relationships with the accounting profession in the region and around the country. All Big Four firms have major offices within close proximity of the school’s location, three within walking distance of the downtown campus. Numerous mid-tier firms lie in that same radius, including RSM, Grant Thornton, BDO, Dixon Hughes, Crowe Horwath, and others. An international business hub for the Southeast, Atlanta is home to significant tax practices at accounting firms and several law firms including Alston & Bird, Jones Day, and Eversheds Sutherland.

OPPORTUNITIES AND EXPECTATIONS FOR LEADERSHIP

The director of the School of Accountancy provides strategic leadership and is responsible for advancing its research, education, practice, and service mission. Reporting to the dean of the Robinson College of Business, the director is a key member of the college’s academic leadership team and an important partner to the dean on strategic institutional initiatives. The next director will position the school to seize opportunities for collaboration in research, education, resource mobilization, and administrative efficiency, inspiring the community with the vision and promise of the School of Accountancy and shaping the future of the Robinson College of Business and its unique pivotal role in providing diverse talent that is ready to lead and innovate in business and society.

Specifically, the director will be expected to:

● Articulate a vision and strategy for distinguishing GSU as a pre-eminent school of accountancy. A leader is needed to build upon the school’s unique advantages being part of a university with a world-class student success model and an innovation agenda initiated under the college’s previous strategic plan. Robinson’s School of Accountancy will become a recognized global leader in demonstrating that students from all backgrounds can graduate prepared to use emerging technologies to develop pioneering business practices for the accounting profession and lead innovative organizations.

● Further enhance excellence in teaching, research, practice and service. Inspire and incentivize high-impact outcomes in curricular and pedagogical innovation, scholarship and research, and outreach and service across the School of Accountancy’s programs, focal areas of research, and activities.

● Model authentic leadership in advancing institutional diversity, equity, and inclusion. Cultivate an inclusive community and environment of trust and transparency where all faculty, staff and students are respected, supported, and empowered. Promote the essential roles that diversity, equity and inclusion play in the school’s mission and how they extend to its relationships with the communities it serves.

● Enhance the recruitment, retention, and development of diverse world- class faculty. Invest in recruiting and retaining outstanding and diverse faculty who distinguish the school and strengthen the Robinson community. Inspire the ongoing pursuit of faculty excellence in scholarship, teaching and service, providing opportunities for professional growth and advancement and investing in the mentorship and success of all faculty, particularly those in the early stage of their careers and from underrepresented groups. Use the resources of the school to be a solution for the lack of diversity in schools of accountancy across the country.

● Secure the resources to realize the school’s vision, particularly through philanthropy. Provide leadership and partner with the college’s advancement office to attract new external financial support for the school’s mission, particularly for student and faculty needs. Inspire the support of individuals, foundations, organizations, and other partners, as well as explore new revenue opportunities through innovative academic programs, sponsored research activities with industry partners, collaborations, and pedagogy.

● Build community partnerships and other external relationships. Establish and strengthen partnerships with professional associations, firms in the accounting industry, and with others to enhance opportunities for students and graduates and to maximize the school’s impact locally, nationally, and globally.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT

GSU is a leading urban research university located in the heart of Atlanta. It is the largest university in Georgia with 54,000 students and continues to lead the state and nation in graduating economically and racially diverse students on-time and at a reasonable cost. Pell-eligible students, many of whom are first-generation college students, currently represent 58% of GSU’s undergraduate student population, ranking first among all national universities in the percent of Pell students that it enrolls. Additionally, GSU is ranked as the third most innovative university in the nation by U.S. News & World Report. GSU has earned national and international recognition for its data-oriented approach to student support, retention, and success.

With more than 8,000 students and 170 faculty members, Robinson is among the ten largest accredited business schools in the United States with a student body that is one of the most diverse in the country. Fifty-six percent of RCB undergraduates are under-represented minorities. According to the most recent edition of Diverse Issues in Education, Robinson ranks #1 conferring bachelor’s degrees in finance and in marketing to Black students. The School of Accountancy ranks #2 conferring bachelor’s degrees in accounting to Black students and #15 to under-represented minorities.

The college is highly ranked in many areas. Robinson’s flagship Part-time MBA program is ranked among the best by Bloomberg Businessweek and U.S. News & World Report, and its Executive MBA is considered by Financial Times to be among the top 20 programs in the United States and one of the world’s premier programs.

Robinson’s size and legacy of excellence make it one of the most influential business schools in the country. According to Standard & Poor’s, more Georgia executives hold graduate degrees from Robinson and Georgia State than any other college or university in the country. The college’s location in the middle of Atlanta provides easy access to 16 Fortune 500 companies and 30 Fortune 1000 companies headquartered in the Atlanta metropolitan area, offering excellent opportunities for research, student job placement, and fundraising. Benefitting from both broad and deep disciplinary expertise and recent investments in computer science, emerging technologies, and innovation, we are rapidly pursuing idea development with students, faculty, and strategic partners working alongside one another. Together we are producing the next generation of diverse innovators and leaders who are changing the face of business.

Atlanta’s reputation as the economic capital of the Southeast is well established, and the region is now rapidly developing as a tech hub. Venture capitalist, Leura Craig, recently was quoted saying, “We think that the Southeast and especially Atlanta has the opportunity to become a key hub for tech startups in the next 5 years. It feels a lot like Los Angeles five years ago. Covid dramatically accelerated the flight from California and New York and the Southeast’s tech scene is going to be a huge winner as a result of this migration.” The metropolitan area is vibrant, quickly growing, and has an abundance of in-town and suburban living options, many boasting highly ranked public schools. RCB is located steps from a MARTA hub, making GSU an easy commute from many neighborhoods and surrounding communities.

FURTHER INFORMATION AND APPLICATION PROCEDURE Further information about the RCB and the School of Accountancy is online at https://robinson.gsu.edu/academic-departments/accountancy/ Applicants should apply online at Academicjobsonline.org and include a letter of interest, curriculum vitae, samples of current research, and at least three letters of recommendation. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Questions related to the position should be sent to Chairperson of the Search Committee, Dr. Stephen Shore at sshore@gsu.edu. The position is contingent upon final budget approval by the University. Georgia State University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants due to race, ethnicity, gender, veterans status, or on the basis of disability or any other federal, state, or local protected class. As a campus with a diverse student body, we encourage applications from women, minorities, and individuals with a history of mentoring students from under- represented groups.