About Me
No, I am not pictured above, but this is my favorite outdoor activity

How I Got Here:

I joined the Furman EBA department in January 1999 as an Assistant Professor of Economics and Business Administration after almost 18 years in the corporate world.
 

"The Pride of West Virginia" - the Mountaineer Marching Band

I was born  in West Virginia and spent most of my formative years there (which explains a great deal).  I graduated from Fairmont State College in West Virginia with a double major in accounting and political science.  My original intention was to go to law school,  however, as a back-up plan I decided to try some courses outside of political science.  I took an accounting course,  found I enjoyed it and decided it would be my second major.  While at Fairmont I  also ran track and played volleyball.  After graduating, I went on to West Virginia University  and earned a Masters in Professional Accountancy.  Shortly after graduating from WVU, I joined  the audit staff of Ernst & Whinney in Greenville, South Carolina.  I have often been asked how I ended up in Greenville, South Carolina and to be honest, I am not absolutely certain.  I came here to interview, sight unseen, and have been here ever since.
 

In 1991, I left what was, at that time, Ernst & Young (for some reason companies I work for tend to change their names alot) and became internal audit manager at TW Services, Inc.(whose name was subsequently changed to Flagstar Companies, Inc. and then to Advantica Restaurant Group, Inc.)  After 3 years in audit I moved to the controller's area and eventually was promoted to assistant controller.  My years at Advantica were very interesting and exposed me to all types of business activity - dispositions, acquisitions, dealing with the Securities and Exchange Commission and the daily challenges associated with going in and out of  bankruptcy.   While at Advantica, I taught night classes at  Furman  and when the opportunity arose to teach full-time, I jumped at the chance....and that's how I got here.
 
 

Things I enjoy in addition to teaching accounting:
 
  • Rock climbing (favorite spots include New River Gorge in West Virginia, City of Rocks, Idaho and Smith Rocks in Oregon) 
  • Camping 
  • Hiking 
  • Playing volleyball 
  • Dressing up for Halloween (Can you find the halloween picture on this page?) 
  • Collecting accounting  and business related cartoons.  My two favorites are Dilbert and almost anything published in the New Yorker.  Visit Dilbert's web site with the touch of a mouse below
  • Baking oatmeal carmelitas - if you like oatmeal carmelitas, scroll down for the recipe.  If you would like to taste them without the trouble of actually baking them - become an accounting major!
Who is this  accounting nerd?


And now, for your baking and eating pleasure - Oatmeal Carmelitas -  the official treat of Accounting Majors

<>Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

<>Melt ¾ cup of butter in a saucepan 

Add to the melted butter the following:

        1 cup oatmeal

        ¾ cup brown sugar

        1 cup flour

        ½ teaspoon soda

        ¼ teaspoon salt

<>Press half of this mixture into the bottom of a 9 by 9 pan and bake at 350 for ten minutes.

Sprinkle on the top of the baked mixture 6 ounces of semi-sweet morsels and ½ cup chopped nuts. 

<>Mix ¾ cup caramel ice cream topping with 3 tablespoons of flour and pour this mixture over the top of the nuts and morsels.

Spoon the remaining oatmeal mixture over the caramel.

<>Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.  Refrigerate for easier cutting (as if you are not going to immediately eat them right out of the pan)


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