Lynne Hendrix of the Hope College accounting faculty has been named the 2005 Accounting Educator of the Year by the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MACPA).
She will receive the award on Wednesday, Sept. 28, during the 2005 MACPA Awards dinner, which will be held in Rochester.
The award recognizes educators who excel in teaching accounting and promoting the CPA profession. Recipients must be full-time Michigan educators who emphasize the importance of accounting education to the profession and exemplify the role professors play in supporting the CPA profession.
Hendrix was nominated by a student, with support of the nomination provided by former students, faculty from Hope and other accounting programs in Michigan, and from recruiters and CPA firms.
"I don't know of anybody on campus who invests more in her students than she does. She is very thorough in working with them," said Dr. John Lunn, a long-time colleague who is the Robert W. Haack Professor of Economics and chairperson of the department. "She's someone who's with them a lot, takes time to meet with them one-on-one."
"Former students will always speak of her with very high praise," Lunn said.
Current students appreciate Hendrix as well.
"I believe Lynne deserves the award because she is an amazingly knowledgeable professor who is approachable both in and out of the classroom," said Scott Teusink, a junior from Fremont who is currently enrolled in his third class with Hendrix. "She understands that accounting is challenging but shows up every day living her slogan, 'Accounting is fun!' Lynne challenges her students to work to their full potential, pushing them to succeed."
Hendrix emphasized that praise related to accounting instruction at Hope needs to be shared more broadly: by all of the faculty, the college in general and the students.
"This is a great honor as well as a humbling experience," she said. "Everything we have accomplished with the accounting program at Hope College has been through the joint efforts of myself, and Professors Boyd, Martin and Ritsema, and with the cooperation and encouragement from our department and college."
"Over the years, we have also been blessed with a wonderful group of intelligent and hard-working students who believed me when I told them 'accounting is fun,'" she said. "Their accomplishments since graduation have become a constant source of pride and a reminder that this is truly the greatest job in the world."
Hendrix, an associate professor of accounting at Hope and a CPA, has been a member of the Hope faculty since 1984. She teaches Principles of Financial Accounting, Principles of Managerial Accounting, Intermediate Accounting and Auditing, and is also director of the department's accounting internship program. Her work as a mentor also extends to helping graduating students with their resumes and even with their job search.
She serves as Hope's liaison to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) and the American Society of Women Accountants. She is a member of the Hope College Athletic Committee, of which she is past chair, and is an MIAA conference faculty representative and an NCAA faculty representative. She has taught sailing, and currently serves as the advisor to the college's Sailing Club.
Hendrix completed her Bachelor's degree at Eastern Michigan University, graduating summa cum laude in 1978. After gaining four years of auditing and tax experience as a senior accountant with Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. in Toledo, Ohio, she completed an MBA at Grand Valley State University.
The MACPA is a professional organization for CPAs and affiliated professionals, including CPAs in education, government, industry and public accounting as well as educators, students and others.