Named Professorships

The David W. Wilson Chair was established through a gift from university alumnus and Laguna Beach, California resident, David W. Wilson, president and owner of one of the largest privately owned automotive groups in the country. Wilson graduated from UNI in 1970 with a B.A. in philosophy and an academic record peppered with numerous business courses. His gift reveals his passion for the value of ethics as a guide to decision-making in life and business, a value he attributes to his phenomenal success. His investment has helped make ethics a focus of teaching and research in the College of Business.

Current Holder: Russell Guay

Robert Bradford was a pioneering entrepreneur who turned a small local firm into a thriving global business. Margaret Bradford (Interdisciplinary ‘91), a painter, musician and world traveler with a Ph.D. in archeology, shared her husband’s passion and excitement for building an international business. They recognized the importance for the UNI College of Business to develop graduates who could navigate the challenges of the global economy. For that reason, they invested in the college. The holder of the Robert P. and Margaret C. Bradford Chair in International Business works to enhance UNI's global presence, create new international internships for our students, enlarge our network of partners around the world and infuse international content into our curriculum at home.

Current Holder: Mary Connerley

The public accounting firm of RSM US LLP has a rich Iowa history that began when Ira B. McGladrey started his accounting firm in Cedar Rapids and grew it into the fifth largest public accounting firm in the world. With a long history of recruiting accounting students from UNI, RSM’s partner ranks are filled with UNI accounting alumni. It is those partners, with leadership from accounting alumni Rod Foster (‘83), Partner & Location Leader, Des Moines, Doug Opheim (‘80), RSM CFO, that resulted in the RSM US LLP Professor of Accounting in 2007. In 2021, due to additional gifts from UNI alumni employed by RSM and the RSM foundation, the professorship was elevated to a Chair. These funds, under the direction of the Chair, support student scholarships, professional programming and faculty development.

Current Holder: Joseph Ugrin

T. Wayne Davis (Marketing '43), was a serial entrepreneur who established a multi-million-dollar business empire. In his lifetime, he founded or spun-off eight different businesses across the country, the most well-known being Control-O-Fax Corporation in Waterloo. Initially established with seed funds from the State of Iowa in 1986 and then with an additional generous gift from Adele Davis in memory of her husband, the T. Wayne Davis Chair became UNI's first named chair in 1996. The funds from this endowment has enabled UNI to continue the tradition of support for small business and entrepreneurs that was so important to Mr. Davis.

Current Holder: Lindi Roelofse

Our exceptional accounting program has provided accounting leaders to a wide range of accounting firms, including Deloitte. Proud of their alma mater and in recognition of the impact their accounting education had on their careers, nine accounting alumni who worked at Deloitte pulled together to establish the Deloitte Accounting Faculty Fellowship in 2010. Lead by Jeff Provost ('84), these accounting alumni, Amber Carman ('94), Matthew Davis ('90), Kim Felker ('93), Jason Flinn ('97), Aaron Grundman ('92), Mick Kane ('91), Christine Terhark ('92) and Debra Warner ('95), founded the fellowship to help the accounting department attract and retain quality faculty. Since that time, additional gifts from even more alumni at Deloitte have elevated the Fellowship to a Professorship providing even greater support to students and faculty.

The Gaylon Halverson Professorship was established in 2003 by a group of UNI alumni too numerous to recognize here to honor the strong tradition of excellence in accounting education initiated under the leadership of Gaylon "Doc" Halverson. This award honors both Gaylon "Doc" Halverson and the faculty who are the recipients of the professorship. Gaylon Halverson joined the UNI faculty in 1963. He was instrumental in creating UNI's nationally renowned accounting program. The Halverson Professorship remembers the influence "Doc" Halverson had on countless accounting alumni. It is awarded to UNI faculty who continue the tradition of excellence.

Current Holder: Amy Igou

Lawrence M. Jepson (Economics ‘17) graduated and began his life on Wall Street, keenly interested in how Iowa and the United States would fit into the emerging global economic framework. In the development of the Keystone Mutual Fund, which he founded and ran until the late 1970's, he learned that the world is in fact very small. He used to say that if a Zurich banker sneezed, someone in the United States caught a cold. When Jepson died in 1982, he bequeathed funds to establish the Lawrence M. Jepson endowment to create a professorship and support activities in the area of international economics. Over the years, thousands of students, faculty, business leaders and community representatives have benefited from his generosity.

Current Holder: Shahina Amin

Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company invested in undergraduate education by establishing a professorship at UNI Business to help the college attract and retain the best faculty in a competitive market. Three alumni played a critical role in making this position possible: Wendell Crosser (Accounting '81), vice president of finance for Allied Insurance; Paul VanDenBosch (Marketing '87), regional vice president for Allied Insurance; and Bob O'Hollearn (Political Science '72), regional vice president for Allied Insurance. Proceeds from the endowment support professional development activities for students, curriculum innovation and enhancement, acquisition of instructional resources, scholarly and practical research, and seminars and workshops led by executives and business professionals.

Current Holder: Atul Mitra

Nine UNI accounting alumni and partners at PricewaterhouseCoopers established a long-lasting sign of appreciation for the UNI Business educators who influenced them by creating the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowed Professorship in Accounting. These partner alumni have found their accounting careers taking them to locations across the U.S. and overseas. Thankful to their alma mater, these alumni, in addition to Steve Anderson, partner and friend, founded the the PwC professorship:Jeff Bjustrom (‘88), Mike Brandmeyer(‘91), Jill Hemphill (Finance ‘91), Dave Schroeder (‘85), Pete Schlicksup (‘91),Tim Throndson (‘83), Ellen Valde(‘85), and Ken Wise (‘77).

Current Holder: Tim Lindquist

This professorship was established through a seven-figure gift by best-selling author, emeritus dean of the College of Business and UNI alumnus, Robert J. Waller (BA ‘62 & MA ‘64). As a professor, UNI provided Dr. Waller the room to experiment with courses and course content, and he hoped this professorship would allow others to do the same. He was always keenly focused on student success. He was instrumental in establishing the culture of excellence by which the College is known first as a professor and second as the very first dean of UNI’s independent business college, the School of Business, created in 1981. The holder of this professorship will continue to elevate student success and display Waller’s high performance standards in teaching, research and service.

Current Holder: Shar Self

Thanks to the leadership of the Accounting Advisory Board and generous donations from a group of accounting alumni too large to share here, the Accounting Alumni Faculty Fellow was established. Our accounting alumni recognize the positive influence that accounting faculty had on their personal professional development. They contributed to this fellowship in appreciation for those faculty. The Fellowship is intended to support and recognize an accounting faculty member who positively influences the accounting program and the professional development of accounting students.

Current Holder: Wee Meng Eric Lee

Thanks to a long-held goal of Kevin Zaugg (‘96), EY Des Moines Office Managing Partner, and Chris Yuska (‘01), EY Partner, plus many other UNI EY Accounting alumni, an Ernst & Young Accounting Endowed Faculty Fellowship was established to support the teaching activities of a distinguished UNI accounting faculty member. Kevin and Chris have always been passionate about the College of Business and the Accounting program at UNI, and are actively involved in recruiting on campus and helping with accounting department needs whenever possible. They actively serve on the Accounting Advisory Council. The fellowship is the first step in a goal they share to build it into a professorship, a similar history of many other named positions. Both hope the holder of the Ernst & Young Accounting Endowed Faculty Fellowship role can inspire students, just like their professors did for them.

Current Holder: David Deeds

The University of Northern Iowa holds a special place in the hearts’ of Rod and Heidi Foster. Rod started his long career in accounting because of his education at the College of Business. UNI is also where he met his wife, Heidi, a graduate of the chemistry program. Because of their UNI experience, Rod and Heidi decided to repay the University for giving them the tools and experiences to be successful in business and life. The Foster Fellowship for Junior Faculty in Accounting was specifically designed to help the Accounting Department recruit and retain outstanding new accounting professors in a highly competitive market. The funding is used to support the professional development and scholarly activities of the holder.

Current Holder: Gabe Dickey

In the spring of 2013, ESP International President and CEO Jeff Hamilton (Accounting '80) and his wife Julie established an endowment to create the Jeff and Julie Hamilton/ESP International Supply Chain and Logistics Management Fellowship. Jeff began his career as an public accountant before purchasing ESP. As CEO and owner of a company with a global footprint, he understood the need for a strong supply chain program that allows graduates to engage with business professionals world-wide. The gift was designed to attract and retain outstanding faculty committed to excellence in teaching, research and service. The Hamilton Fellowship funds the professional development, scholarly activity and practical research of the holder, helping to make sure UNI Business continues to provide the cutting-edge knowledge needed by our supply chain graduates.

Current Holder: Daniel Bumblauskas

Deere & Company has a long history of hiring UNI graduates as well as part-time student employees. At last count (2020) over 1,200 UNI graduates were employed by Deere & Company. That does not include retirees. Recognizing the critical connection between faculty research and student preparedness to meet employer expectations, the John Deere Endowed Faculty Fellowship was established. This Fellowship provides support for faculty research and scholarship in science, mathematics and business, and alternates between the College of Business and the College of Humanities, Arts & Sciences at UNI.

Through his extensive involvement with UNI Business, Tim Williams (Accounting '71) knows that attracting and retaining young, talented, tenure-track faculty is no easy task. In that light, he created the Tim Williams Junior Faculty Fellowship to reward and recognize outstanding new professors in the college. Each year, an untenured faculty member is honored with the title of Tim Williams Junior Faculty Fellow. This recognition is given for teaching excellence, significantly important in the quest for tenure. The funds support professional development and scholarly activity during the summer.

Current Holder: Sam Matthews