MSU gets second Chair of Accountancy

Springfield-based accounting firm BKD LLP has established a second BKD Chair of Accountancy in the MSU College of Business Administration, the school announced Jan. 16.

It is the school's 26th privately named faculty position, and the process is under way to recruit a nationally recognized faculty member to fill the slot, according to COBA Dean Ron Bottin.

"The support that BKD has provided to the School of Accountancy within the College of Business is truly phenomenal," he said in a news release. "We are honored and privileged that they have elected to expand their investment in our program by providing funding for a second BKD Chair in Accountancy."

Normally, a chair endowment represents a $1 million investment, but sometimes the donation agreement is for supporting the position for a specific number of years. Bottin said the amount of BKD's donation is being kept private at the firm's request.

The second BKD chair is MSU's 23rd new endowed faculty position since 2005, when Michael Nietzel became president. There were three endowed faculty positions when he arrived, and Nietzel has set a goal to have at least 70 endowed positions at the university.

John Wanamaker, managing partner at BKD, said the years-long relationship between his firm and MSU has been mutually beneficial.

"One of the greatest benefits is the number of outstanding graduates we have hired and continue to hire from Missouri State," he said in the release. "The graduates of the School of Accountancy at Missouri State have helped make us the firm we are today."