Global accounting firm KPMG to fund professorship at the Freeman School
During a speaking engagement at Tulane University yesterday, KPMG Chairman and CEO John Veihmeyer announced plans to establish the KPMG LLP Professorship in Accounting at the A. B. Freeman School of Business.
KPMG partners, retired partners and employees, supported by matching gifts from the KPMG Foundation, together have pledged $150,000 over five years to support the teaching and research of an outstanding accounting professor.
“Professorships like this allow universities to attract and retain outstanding faculty who understand deeply the needs of the public accounting profession,” Veihmeyer said. “Likewise, maintaining strong relationships with accounting professors and faculty at ‘schools of choice’ is critical to our mission. We are very pleased to support President Cowen, Dean Solomon and the administration at Tulane and Freeman in their efforts to expand faculty and to graduate high performing students, providing firms like KPMG with a strong pipeline of talent.”
“We are delighted to receive this generous investment in the future of accountancy education at the Freeman School,” said Ira Solomon, Freeman School dean. “KPMG has always had a very strong orientation toward scholarship. This gift will enable us to continue to produce top-quality accounting research as well as prepare an increasing number of students for careers with KPMG and other prestigious accounting firms.”
Accounting is a growth area for Freeman. The school plans to hire three new tenured or tenure-track accounting professors and has recently signed agreements with Xiamen and Zhejiang universities in China to offer master of accounting programs for Chinese graduate students.
Veihmeyer was in New Orleans to meet with Tulane officials and speak to students as part of the Dean’s Distinguished Speaker Series. He shared his views on the global business environment, the job market for new accounting graduates and his principles for success based on his 35-year career with KPMG.