CHICAGO — The RSM US Foundation has made a $1 million gift to DePaul University to promote academic excellence at DePaul’s School of Accountancy & Management Information Systems (MIS). The gift from RSM US LLP, which is headquartered in Chicago, establishes two endowed faculty fellowships in DePaul’s 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.
Mary Mindak, an associate professor at DePaul University’s School of Accountancy & MIS, is the first named RSM Fellow. The RSM US Foundation provided a $1 million gift to establish two endowed faculty fellowships at DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business. (DePaul University/Kathy Hillegonds)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,” said 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,” said 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,” said 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.”
About the Driehaus College of Business
One of the first 10 business colleges founded in the nation, DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business offers highly respected, practical programs of business study that empower graduates to achieve more. The college encompasses an undergraduate business program that enrolls more than 3,600 students and the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, which enrolls more than 1,800 students in the DePaul MBA, specialized master’s degree programs and a doctoral degree program.
The college’s distinguished faculty of scholars and business practitioners connect students to Chicago’s business community, creating real-world learning experiences and career opportunities for students. Graduates join an alumni network that is more than 65,000 strong. The School of Accountancy & MIS, the largest unit in the college, offers highly respected undergraduate and graduate degrees that produce graduates who add value to the profession. More at
https://driehaus.depaul.edu.
About DePaul University
DePaul is the largest Catholic university in the U.S. with more than 22,000 students and 300+ academic and professional programs. Established in Chicago in 1898, DePaul continues to strengthen what makes it unique: respected academics, real-world knowledge, and a commitment to social responsibility, all informed by the place it calls home—the multicultural city of Chicago. The university’s distinctive mission establishes a strong foundation of inclusive liberal-arts education, religious pluralism, and social justice—responsibilities that endure in the life of the university today. More at
www.depaul.edu.
About the RSM US Foundation
In 2014, RSM laid the footings of a giving strategy designed to be compelling to its people, its clients and its markets, while enhancing its longstanding support of the communities where its employees live and work. The result is the RSM US Foundation. A tax-exempt public charity, the firm’s foundation is dedicated to building tomorrow’s middle market leaders by enhancing educational outcomes through programs to help individuals develop career paths to become entrepreneurs or middle market business leaders, and to supporting organizations committed to providing stable environments for youth in the areas of hunger, housing and health, thereby helping them excel in education.
About RSM US LLP
RSM’s purpose is to deliver the power of being understood to its clients, colleagues and communities through world-class audit, tax and consulting services focused on middle market businesses. The clients RSM serves are the engine of global commerce and economic growth, and the firm is focused on developing leading professionals and services to meet their evolving needs in today’s ever-changing business environment. RSM US LLP is the U.S. member of RSM International, a global network of independent, audit, tax and consulting firms with more than 43,000 people in over 120 countries. For more information, visit
https://rsmus.com.
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Media contact:
Carol Hughes
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