From the Dean's Desk

Guest Column: Jim Leady

Martijn Cremers

Martijn Cremers

Monday, 25 January 2021
Undergrad Update: Rankings and Two New Programs
Our long winter break is nearing its end, and very soon we will welcome our students back to campus. The last two highly unusual semesters have certainly presented plenty of individual and collective “growth opportunities,” and we – our students, our staff and our faculty – have pulled together as a community to do amazing things!
Though many of us might feel like grizzled veterans by now, I am sure the upcoming semester will challenge us in new ways. I am confident that with God’s grace we will again have a very successful semester.
Today I write to share two updates regarding the undergraduate program with you.
First, in the just-released Poets & Quants 2021 undergraduate business school rankings, Mendoza ranked No. 7, marking the fifth time we’ve placed in the top 10.  The P&Q ranking, now in its fifth year, is one of the two prominent rankings (the other being U.S. News & World Report) and started soon after Bloomberg Businessweek discontinued its annual rankings of undergraduate business schools.
Unlike the U.S. News rankings, which are based solely on a survey of deans and senior faculty, the P&Q rankings place equal weight on three factors: admissions standards, student satisfaction with their academic experience and employment success. Mendoza ranked 5th, 11th and 11th respectively in these categories. The ranking factored in admissions data for the Class of 2024, survey data from the Class of 2018 and employment data for the Class of 2020.
Notre Dame’s continued success with this ranking is a testament to the strength of our students as well as to the dedication and creativity of the faculty, staff and alumni who provide the transformative experience for our students. Out of the 93 schools participating, we earned the top rating for most satisfied graduates on two questions concerning the involvement of practicing professionals and alumni. I wish to thank everyone in the Mendoza community who teaches, advises, mentors and supports our undergraduate students!
The other update I wish to share is about our forthcoming honors programs. Mendoza will initiate two separate honors programs next academic year — the Business Honors Program and the Research Honors Program in Business — both of which will challenge our most gifted undergraduate business students with a rigorous, comprehensive and specialized course of study and programming.
These distinct honors programs will allow us to compete more effectively with schools such as Wharton and MIT to attract top undergraduates to Notre Dame; to boost hiring of our undergraduate students in the most demanding and complex corporate positions, and to place more Mendoza graduates in distinguished Ph.D. programs in business.
All First Year students pre-admitted to Mendoza and transfer students will have the opportunity to apply to the Business Honors Program during their second semester on campus. The program will engage students during their final three years in Mendoza primarily through an elevated business curriculum. It is especially suited to those students interested in exploring the moral purpose of business and how it can contribute to integral human development. Top applicants will have clearly demonstrated this interest as well as a high level of academic achievement and intellectual curiosity.
The Research Honors Program in Business is a separate opportunity specifically for juniors or seniors interested in doing their own independent research supervised by a faculty member. We expect the Business Honors Program initially to enroll about 40 students per cohort and the Research Honors Program in Business to attract about 10 business majors per year. (Students could potentially do both programs.)
I wish everyone a successful and healthy spring semester, and GO IRISH!
Jim Leady
Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education
Associate Teaching Professor

Happy New Year!

Martijn Cremers

Martijn Cremers

Monday, 18 January 2021
Happy New Year! This common expression carries extra hope for 2021, after such a difficult 2020 and start of 2021. We all fervently hope and pray that the new year will usher in the return of life to normal, including gathering together again as a community.
As I greet you with this first Dean’s Message of 2021, I want to recognize today as Martin Luther King Jr. Day. I hope you were able to attend the online discussion earlier today with Justice Alan Page and Notre Dame Law Dean Marcus Cole. Also, I hope you will participate in Notre Dame’s annual “Walk the Walk Week” from February 22 through February 28, after we reconvene on campus on February 3. The week-long series of University and department sponsored events is designed to help each of us consider the steps we might take individually and collectively to make Notre Dame, our communities and our nation more equitable and inclusive.
In the wake of the tragic national events during this past year, including the murder of George Floyd, MLK Day reminds us that our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is foundational to our mission. It is critically important to always affirm and act consistently with belief in the inherent dignity and worth of every person. We ask for everyone’s participation, ideas and initiative in taking actions toward becoming a more diverse, equitable and inclusive community, where we aim to listen, understand and value everyone as individuals and as part of our community.
At Mendoza, 2020 brought us many disruptions and changes, and as a result, the need to strike balances between priorities. We needed to safeguard the health and wellness of our students, faculty and staff, while recognizing that in-person engagement is an integral part of our culture and learning environment. We had to prioritize our resources to meet immediate challenges while also keeping our vision on the future and the long-term goals for the College. We had to reinvent the way we work at a time when the larger demands of our families, churches, friends and communities have stretched us.
Yet as I reflect back on the College during this past year, I am struck by the fact that through all of the uncertainty and stress, your continued commitment to our mission, and specifically to serving our students and each other, was unwavering and an inspiration to me. I saw this commitment expressed daily in many, many ways, from learning to teach via Zoom, to wearing masks all day so you could teach in-person, to finding new ways to work as teams, to performing smaller acts such as manning the courtyard fire pits so that our graduate students would have a safe place to gather outside.
I'm proud of what we have achieved in 2020 despite all of the disruption and all of the challenges, and very grateful to all of you. Often when people face great adversity, they freeze. You didn’t! In fact, in looking over the “Mendoza year in review,” we were quite busy and accomplished a lot, to the great appreciation of our students as well.
On January 6, we witnessed an outrageous assault on Congress that to quote Father Jenkins, “was unworthy of our democracy.” I join his call for all of us to pray for this nation and to “condemn unequivocally the disruption of institutions designed to serve the common good.” These realities remind us that we continue to face many challenges, including social disunity and racial and social injustice. All of us can consider how we can work to heal these divisions.
As we enter 2021 (during which we will start celebrating the College’s centennial), it is our joint commitment to our Catholic mission – to educate business leaders who contribute to human flourishing, cooperate in solidarity and compete through growing toward the best version of themselves (with the help of God and others) – that endures and renews our hope, whatever the next 12 months might bring.
In his recent Epiphany of the Lord homily, Pope Francis encouraged us to greater worship and discipleship by presenting three (a most appropriate number…) “lessons” from the story of the Magi who traveled to see the newborn Jesus: “to lift up our eyes,” “to set out on a journey” and “to see.” I think this message offers a good approach to 2021 — to maintain an attitude of openness and gratitude with lifted up rather than downcast eyes, to continue on our journey with a focus on growth, and to prioritize a concern for the wellbeing of others.
In Notre Dame,
Martijn 

Merry Christmas

Martijn Cremers

Martijn Cremers

Monday, 14 December 2020
But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people." Luke 2:10
The Bible verses of Luke 2:10 are part of the story of Christ’s birth in the Gospel of Luke. This year, the phrase that resonated with me is the angel’s imperative: “Do not be afraid.” On a dark, lonely hillside, the angel declared to the shepherds that despite all appearances, there was reason for “great joy” – the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.
This past year has brought us many reasons to be afraid. Yet, as we count down the days until Christmas and the end of 2020, there are also many reasons to be filled with gratitude and hope. I’m very thankful to all of you for your perseverance, hard work, patience and grace in facing challenge after challenge, and I am particularly proud of how you served our students this fall semester.
In this last Dean’s Message of 2020, I wish you peace and rest in the days ahead, special times with your families and loved ones and a blessed 2021.
Merry Christmas,
Martijn

Guest Column: Kristen Collett-Schmitt

Martijn Cremers

Martijn Cremers

Monday, 7 December 2020
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Bountiful Winter Session offerings reflect successful integration within Mendoza Graduate Programs
In early November, Dean Cremers wrote in the Mendoza Exchange about the efforts of both the University and NDIGI to keep students engaged during the Winter Session. Today, I am pleased to share news of the efforts of the faculty and staff in Mendoza Graduate Programs to create learning opportunities for Specialized Master’s students during the months between the fall and spring semesters. (Many are also open to MBA students). A full list of offerings is available on the Specialized Master’s Student Portal.
  • Career Workshops: Our colleagues in Career Development will be busy as of  Dec. 2 with workshops designed to help graduate students make the most of the Winter Session, jumpstart their job search in the new year, learn more about functional career areas, and hone their skills in interviewing and networking.
  • Digital Badges and Certificates: In collaboration with others across the University, our colleagues in Mendoza IT have created an immersive learning experience on learning platforms Percipio and Udemy that will allow students to earn online certifications and virtual badges. Students will have access to high-quality, on-demand courses covering a range of topics such as data science, finance, programming, leadership, business strategy and professional development. Tailored learning paths that complement Mendoza curriculum have been curated for each Specialized Master’s program.
  • Virtual Leadership Academy: This four-day leadership boot camp, led by Angela Logan and Joan McClendon, will integrate students across all Specialized Master’s programs. Topics include DE&I in the Workplace, Effective Communication, Emotional Intelligence and Spiritual Leadership
  • Communication Bootcamp: Presented by colleagues in the Fanning Center for Business Communication, this bootcamp will ask students to commit six hours to taking their communication skills to the next level. Sessions will target skills critical to the job search process and are open to all Mendoza Graduate Programs.
  • For-credit courses: Optional, for-credit courses will be offered in Nonprofit Management & Leading with Social Impact, Board Relations & Management, and Special Topics in Tax. The students who choose to enroll in these courses will be able to accelerate their degree requirements, expand their elective set and/or free up time in the traditional spring semester.
  • Crossroads Classic Analytics Challenge: Open to both undergraduate and graduate students, this first annual event is co-sponsored by Teachers Credit Union, Butler University, Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame. Students will have the chance to sharpen their predictive modeling skills and win cash prizes.
  • Virtual Christmas Cookie Contest: Sponsored by the new Specialized Master’s Council, students will use social media to engage with each other during the holiday with a virtual contest.
As you scroll through this message, it’s likely not lost on you that this set of offerings is both impressive and extensive. This amazing work is reflective of the dedication of Mendoza faculty and staff that is always evident in a normal year, but particularly notable during this unusual one. As soon as the new and experimental Winter Session was announced by the University, our colleagues reacted by swiftly identifying the needs of students across all programs and creating meaningful content. We carefully balanced the importance of keeping students engaged and connected to Mendoza during the Winter Session and using the time to reset before (what is likely to be) a tumultuous spring semester.
This amazing work is also reflective of successful integration across nearly all academic and functional areas in Mendoza Graduate Programs, including Career Development, Student Services and Operations, Experiential Learning and Leadership Development, and Mendoza IT. The collaborative efforts of the academic directors of the Specialized Master’s programs, faculty and staff merged seamlessly to serve the best interests of our students. I can personally attest to the fact that our students are grateful, too. Now more than ever, I feel blessed to be part of our Mendoza community, and in particular, our Specialized Master’s program teams.
I wish everyone in the College well-deserved joy this holiday season.
In Notre Dame,
Kristen Collett-Schmitt
Associate Dean for Specialized Master’s Programs
Associate Teaching Professor of Finance

Guest column: Sandra Vera-Muñoz

Martijn Cremers

Martijn Cremers

Monday, 30 November 2020
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Dear Colleagues,

When it was clear earlier this year that the COVID-19 pandemic was here to stay for a while, many of us found different ways of coping with our “new” normal, both at work and outside of work. For example, my husband and I found new socially distanced ways of interacting with our two young grandsons using Caribu, the kids’ version of Zoom. I’ve been listening to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s “Hamilton” during my drive to and from work. (We also adopted a kitty, Moti, from the Humane Society of St. Joseph County, but that’s another story.)
In one of my favorite songs, Alexander Hamilton and his fellow young revolutionaries sing, “And when our children tell our story, they'll tell the story of tonight!” This got me thinking, what will be our collective memories of our story of how we overcame the many challenges brought by the pandemic?
Today, I want to highlight the Accountancy Department’s faculty and staff for their steadfast commitment and collective efforts to advance our teaching, research and service endeavors, despite the many disruptions. We have much to be proud of, but due to space limitations, I will highlight just some of the Department’s many accomplishments and related strategic goals.
Owing to the hard work of our graduate and undergraduate curriculum committee members and our highly dedicated faculty, this year we were able to expand our course offerings, from principles courses to graduate-level courses. This fall, we rolled out our new Accounting Data Analytics concentration in our M.S. in Accountancy program, consisting of 8 credit hours, available to MSA students in our two tracks, Assurance & Advisory Services and Tax Services. Our new courses, Accounting Data Exploration and Visualization (ACCT 70080) and Accounting Data Management (ACCT 70180), taught by new colleague Elizabeth Chorvat, have been well received by our students and recruiters.
In spring 2021, we will offer Advanced Accounting Analytics (ACCT 70291) and a new undergraduate course, Tools for Accounting Analytics (ACCT 30180). These courses expand our current offerings, Data Analytics in Accounting (ACCT 70281), taught by Jeff Burks; Fraud and Audit Analytics (ACCT 40520/ACCT 70521), taught by Keith Urtel; and Data Analytics in Accounting (ACCT 30280), taught by Jeff Burks and John Donovan.
Another new MSA course offered this fall, Hal White’s Corporate Disclosure: Accounting Institutions and Academic Research (ACCT 70831), introduces students to capital market research with an emphasis on corporate disclosure research. This course joins Brad Badertscher’s Accounting Research I (ACCT 40930), which acquaints undergraduate students with research methods and protocols to interpret and understand the implications of research findings. One of our strategic goals with these courses is to continue inspiring future generations of accountancy Ph.Ds.
Our cross-college and cross-department collaborations have also expanded. This fall, we offered a new course for non-Mendoza students, Fundamental Financial Literacy (ACCT 10100), developed and taught by Ed Hums. The course is designed to present the advantages of effective financial planning for the students’ personal and professional lives. In addition, our 15 credit hours Accountancy Minor program for non-Mendoza students continues to grow, with over 100 students from the Colleges of Arts and Letters, Science and Engineering bringing diverse perspectives to the intellectually stimulating discussions in our accountancy courses.
One of our strategic goals with the Accountancy Minor program is to offer our multi-talented students a path to our MSA program and open more doors for future careers in accounting and finance, among others.
In spring 2021, we will offer a new undergraduate course, Sustainability: Accounting and Reporting and Impact Investing (ACCT 30160), a collaboration between the Accountancy department and the Notre Dame Institute for Global Investing. Brendan Maher and Tara Kenney, both ND alumni and experts in socially responsible investing, will be joining me in this new course, which is open to Mendoza and non-Mendoza students who have completed ACCT 20100/ACCT 20200.
Even with a compressed 2019 filing season and the many challenges imposed by social distancing, with Colleen Creighton’s leadership, our domestic Tax Assistance Program (TAP) was able to serve 352 low-income taxpayers in our community with the assistance of 50 Notre Dame students, 11 Saint Mary’s College students, five ND/SMC faculty volunteers, and one volunteer from Crowe LLP. And with Ken Milani’s leadership, our International TAP was able to prepare 1,696 returns for 828 international taxpayers with the assistance of 20 MSA students.
This year we also had several student-recruiting efforts and student-centered events, among them (not an all-inclusive list): 
  • MSA webinars. Our thanks to Jim Seida and Shane McCoy for their many webinars offered this year to current and prospective MSA students. The fall webinars included students from North Carolina A&T State University and the University of Puerto Rico – Mayagüez campus. The webinars and personal follow-ups are contributing to increasing MSA enrollments projections for the MSA class of 2022. We also are enhancing our diversity and inclusion MSA recruiting efforts.
  • Events and services sponsored by Beta Alpha Psi, which recently received international recognition as a Superior Chapter for their outstanding efforts during the 2019-2020 academic year. Our thanks to Janet O’Tousa for her outstanding leadership as BAP faculty adviser.
  • Deloitte Case Competition. Owing to Sam Ranzilla’s outstanding leadership, we held this year’s competition virtually earlier this month, assisted by our Deloitte partners and managers and by the dedicated faculty who advised the six competing teams: Brad Badertscher, Erik Beardsley, John Donovan, Stephannie Larocque, Fred Mittelstaedt and Jessie Watkins.  
  • Accountancy Excellence Scholarships reception. This annual event, held virtually this year, gives us the opportunity to come together to congratulate our outstanding undergraduate scholarship recipients and to connect them with our benefactors – the Big 4 and Grant Thornton LLP. We plan to use these scholarships to enhance our undergraduate diversity and inclusion recruiting efforts. 
Two of the busiest persons in our department, Jamie O’Brien and Amanda Rink are instrumental to our Department’s efforts. In everything they do, Jamie and Amanda always go beyond the call of duty while exhibiting a highly supportive and upbeat attitude. Thank you!
And yes, we did not pull through this year unscathed. We settled for virtual graduations, advisory board meetings, and department socials. We also faced cancellations of research conferences, workshops and study abroad programs. We look forward to reconnecting virtually with our Advisory Board members on Dec. 10. And next year, we will celebrate the retirement of two of our dear colleagues, Sam Ranzilla and Tom Schaefer, former department chair, and thank them for their distinguished service to the Department, Mendoza, Notre Dame and the accounting profession.
We also look forward to the first of two conferences on the topic of Accounting for Sustainability and Responsible Investing, hosted by the Center for Accounting Research and Education. The first conference, to be held in 2021, will be virtual; the second, scheduled for 2022, will be held in-person at Mendoza. Our thanks to Peter Easton and Lorie Marsh, who, despite the incredible pandemic-related challenges, have endeavored to reimagine the 2021 conference in creative ways.
Best wishes for a blessed Christmas holiday with your loved ones!
Yours in Notre Dame,

Sandra C. Vera-Muñoz
Deloitte Foundation Department Chair
Department of Accountancy

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