Meet Doug Schneider, Edwin B. Jones Family Distinguished Professor of Accounting

Doug Schneider sits at his desk.

Dr. Douglas K. Schneider, CPA, is a full professor of accounting and holds the Edwin B. Jones Family Distinguished Professor of Accounting at the College of Business at East Carolina University. Since 1991 he has taught hardworking and outstanding students who have graduated to become productive and accomplished alumni of ECU.

His area of teaching and research is financial accounting and reporting. Dr. Schneider is a faculty advisor and co-founder of the Beta Alpha Psi chapter of the National Accounting Honor Society at ECU and is also a founding advisor of ECU’s chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. In addition, Schneider serves as Treasurer of the Delta Omicron Housing Corporation, which operates the Alpha Delta Pi sorority house at ECU and also serves as Faculty Advisor to the sorority. Professor Schneider serves as Chair of the Personnel Committee and the Promotion and Tenure Committee for the Department of Accounting. He has been active in the development of the CPA Exam, including working on CPA Exam questions and, more recently, coordinating field tests and surveys of new CPA Exam questions.

Awards Schneider has received include the Distinguished Professor for Teaching Award by the UNC Board of Governors, the Outstanding Educator award by the NCACPA, the ECU Faculty Impact Award, several other teaching awards and numerous advisor awards by ECU’s Panhellenic and Greek Life. In addition, the graduate and undergraduate students have selected Schneider numerous times as a Hooder for the MSA students and as Marshal for the MSA and BSBA students at the College of Business Graduate Recognition Ceremonies. Each semester he writes numerous letters of recommendation on behalf of students for scholarships, graduate school and employment and internships.

An active researcher, Schneider has published over 60 publications in journals such as the CPA Journal, Journal of Financial Services Professionals, Current Issues in Auditing, Advances in Business Research, Advances in Taxation, Journal of Applied Research in Accounting and Finance, Journal of International Financial Management and Accounting and Accounting Horizons.

A licensed CPA in the State of North Carolina, he is also a member of the AICPA, the American Accounting Association and the North Carolina Association of CPAs. Schneider holds a PhD from the U. of Georgia, a MSA from the U. of Virginia and a BS from Bentley University.

How are you leveraging this gift (the professorship) with your work?

Holding the Edwin B. Jones Family Distinguished Professor chaired professorship is an additional honor assigned to a full professor. Commensurate with this honor is an obligation to serve beyond normal expectations. As a chaired professor, I am always challenging myself to contribute to the mission of the institution, particularly as it directly benefits the students.

For instance, I have continued to serve as a faculty advisor for our accounting honor society, Beta Alpha Psi, which recognizes our best accounting students and also hosts meetings where students can learn about the rewards and demands of careers in accounting from representatives of the accounting profession. My service as a faculty advisor is going on for 30 consecutive years, far beyond the normal length of service, though I do also enjoy the experience. I try to be the point person for communication with alumni, CPA firms and businesses looking to hire accounting majors for internships or jobs and communicate these opportunities to our students for their benefit and to support the placement goals of the Department of Accounting and the College of Business. I continue to serve as Chair of the Personnel Committee and Tenure & Promotion Committee of the Department of Accounting to ensure the timely and accurate processing of personnel documents related to the reappointment of faculty.

Doug Schneider in a classroom setting.

How is this gift impacting your students?

While I have always been guided by the conviction that ECU students are deserving of my time and best effort, holding a chaired professorship serves to reinforce this commitment to our students, to the accounting program, the College of Business and ECU. The majority of my efforts are intended to directly benefit the students; even my efforts that may seem unrelated to the students indirectly benefit the students by assisting the Accounting Program, College of Business, and ECU fulfill its mission.

What research has this gift allowed?

It is incumbent upon a chaired professor to take the initiative regarding research. As the Edwin B. Jones Family Distinguished Professor of Accounting, I consciously seek to collaborate with other faculty on research ideas that will lead to publications. It is rewarding to work with colleagues on a research project and see it develop into published research that supports the mission of the institution.

What else would you like to add about this gift?

Just as I have been fortunate to be honored with a chaired professorship, I have financially supported an accounting scholarship each year to help the students develop their own careers. I hope my efforts show the positive performance of chaired professorships and lead to other deserving faculty experiencing this honor.