Mary Mindak, an associate professor in the School of Accountancy & MIS, is the first named RSM Fellow. (DePaul University/Kathy Hillegonds)
The RSM US Foundation has made a $1 million gift to DePaul to promote academic excellence at the School of Accountancy & Management Information Systems. The gift from RSM US LLP, headquartered in Chicago, establishes two endowed faculty fellowships in the Driehaus College of Business. RSM staff and partners who are DePaul alumni contributed $500,000, which was matched through the foundation's University Giving Match Program.
The RSM Fellowships will help DePaul attract and retain outstanding accounting faculty by enhancing teaching and research opportunities for two distinguished DePaul professors. RSM Fellows will educate and mentor DePaul's highest-achieving accountancy students, and receive support for their research, including underwriting conference travel and scholarly activities.
The first RSM Fellow to be named is Mary Mindak, an associate professor. Mindak received her Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of Cincinnati in 2009. She previously worked at Ernst & Young LLP as an auditor and at Western & Southern Life Insurance Company in the accounting department as a strategic GAAP analyst. Mindak received a Certified Public Accounting certificate in 2006. Her research interests focus on audit risk, bankruptcy, corporate environmental responsibility, and fraud and forensic accounting.
A second fellow will be named in the future.
“This generous gift allows us to support the highest quality teachers and scholars at the School of Accountancy & MIS, advancing our reputation as one of the nation's leading undergraduate and graduate accounting programs," says Ray Whittington, director of the school.
The RSM Fellowships build on a longstanding, mutually beneficial relationship between DePaul and RSM. The School of Accountancy & MIS has partnered with RSM for years to offer its nationally acclaimed Master of Science in Taxation graduate program to RSM staff across the nation. Additionally, RSM employees, many of them DePaul alumni, have acted as guest-lecturers and student mentors at DePaul.
Located in the heart of Chicago's financial and business community, DePaul's School of Accountancy & MIS is among the most comprehensive in the country, with offerings that include highly ranked undergraduate accountancy and masters programs in taxation and accountancy. The programs link theory with practice, taught by professors who add value to the profession through research that probes relevant industry issues.
“DePaul has a special place in my heart," says RSM Managing Partner and CEO Joe Adams, a DePaul alumnus who completed a term on the university's board of trustees in June. “During my time at the university, I gained strong technical and leadership skills through an education grounded in the tradition of stewardship — a value that RSM holds dear. I am grateful to the DePaul alumni across RSM and the RSM US Foundation for contributing to these endowed fellowships. Together we are supporting DePaul in continuing its tradition of developing top-notch, diverse talent that is ready to meet the challenges of the future."
In addition to supporting the core values of DePaul's accounting education — accessibility, quality and relevance — the RSM Fellowships align the foundation's community stewardship priorities with the university's Vincentian mission, embodied by its faculty, to serve others for the collective good. Similarly, both institutions share a commitment to diversity and equity in academia that fuels students' success in the global community.
“Our college prides itself on our strong connection to and support from the business community," says Thomas Donley, interim dean of the college. “We are grateful for RSM's generous gift and its long-standing partnership with our accountancy school, which helps us to produce career-ready graduates who are prepared to succeed and give back to their communities."