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Alumni recognize teaching excellence in accounting
Accounting alumni remember their accounting professors
Accounting alumni Mary Coffin and Ellen Valde were asked what they remembered about the
first four recipients of the Gaylon Halverson Professorships. Their comments echo the reasons for which Ron Abraham, Laverne Andreesen, Darrel Davis, and Lee Nicholas earned the professorship -- each providing personal, exemplary accounting education to thousands of students.
Ellen (Curry) Valde ('85)
Mary Beenken/Barnes Coffin ('83)
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"What are you going to do?" |
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Ellen (Curry) Valde (’85)
Ellen (Curry) Valde (’85), a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Minneapolis, remembered the Halverson professors for the personal attention they gave to each student. “Sometimes the advice was subtle, and we might not even realize how much mentoring we were getting, but they got to know each of us personally and gave us what we needed, telling us how to act, who to get acquainted with, how to interview well. They took the time to get to know us all personally and even about our hometowns and families. Andreessen even knew my hometown, and I’m from South Dakota!
A few of their lines still come back to me. I can remember Andreessen asking, ‘What are you going to do when you don’t know the answer, throw up on your work papers?’ They made sure we learned what to do when faced with something new. Of course, Ron Abraham had the most influence on me. He could make the driest, most boring topic into an enthralling hour. Any guy who can make auditing fun is amazing, and he’s the reason I did go into auditing.”
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| "They knew me!" |
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Mary Beenken/Barnes Coffin (’83)
Now an executive vice president with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Mary Beenken/Barnes Coffin (’83) commented on her experience as a UNI accounting student; “During my college years there were many professors, but these four were more than professors. They were teachers, mentors, leaders and friends! All four of them have such strong personalities with individual attributes and assets, yet the combined experience of having all of them in one organization providing tremendous leadership is a recipe for success. They were able to create a strong program that does more than just teach accounting skills. They took pride in their profession, and gave us, as students, a belief that we could build on our accounting background to go on and do anything! Instilled in us was a solid foundation of accounting skills and just as important, behavior skills to launch a successful career.
They had passion, and they demonstrated and used their passion to teach us and make us better students and future leaders. It wasn’t just about accounting. Their teaching emphasized that we had to really care, work hard and be passionate at whatever we set out to do.
They accomplished this with their great personalities, always taking a personal interest in each of us as people. They knew me! And what is even more amazing is they still know and remember me today. When my mother died just over a year ago, I received a letter from Lee Nicholas because he’d seen the obituary in the local newspaper and recognized my name! I just couldn’t believe that so many years later, an Accounting professor still remembered me and took the time to send his condolences. What an example of the wonderfully enriching traits these four have provided to their students. Thank you and congratulations on this well deserved recognition.
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Learn more about the Gaylon Halverson Professorship success story:
Gaylon Halverson Professorship History
Inaugural holders announced Spring 2003
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