The PhD Project Announces 2015 Inductees Into Hall of Fame

MONTVALE, N.J., Aug. 27, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The PhD Project, an award-winning program to increase diversity in management, announced the 2015 inductees into its PhD Project Hall of Fame. They are: Dr. Michael B. Clement, Professor of Accounting, University of Texas at Austin; Dr. Mark C. Dawkins, Dean, University of North Florida; Dr. William J. Qualls, Professor of Marketing, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

The PhD Project established the Hall of Fame in 2011 to recognize a select few who have inspired many. These individuals have sustained an unwavering commitment to The PhD Project's mission and their positive leadership has resulted in significant encouragement and impact within The Project's network of minority business doctoral students and faculty.

"We are pleased to present the 2015 inductees to The PhD Project Hall of Fame. Since our inception, these individuals have served The Project as presenters, mentors and advisors," said Bernard J. Milano, President of The PhD Project and the KPMG Foundation, the founder and lead funder of The Project.  "They have put forth great effort to create diversity in academia and ultimately, the business world."

Dr. Clement was there at the birth of The PhD Project and attended the first ever Accounting Doctoral Student Association (DSA) conference in Montvale, NJ.  He has been an advocate for The Project ever since. He was recently named the KPMG Professor, Department of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin and he is also the director of the department's Ph.D. program. Dr. Clement received his B.B.A. from Baruch College, his M.B.A. from the University of Chicago, and his Ph.D. from Stanford University. His research explores the activities of the analysts whose earnings and stock market predictions often drive Wall Street and has been published in leading academic journals, including: the Journal of Accounting and Economics, the Journal of Accounting Research, the Accounting Review, the Journal of Finance and the Academy of Management Journal.  Unofficially, and in his role as UT Austin's faculty liaison to the NCAA, Dr. Clement mentors many student athletes of color. He is a 2009 recipient of the Ernst & Young Inclusive Excellence Award. Dr. Jennifer Joe, one of his nominators for The Hall Of Fame, said, "I don't believe that it would be an exaggeration to state that were it not for Michael Clement, there might be not be a PhD Project as we know it today. Even as a student about to graduate, Michael served as a role model to many of us who were at the beginning of our doctoral careers. In his quiet self-deprecating manner he let us know that if he was able to succeed, then the rest of us could." 

Dr. Dawkins has contributed to the Project over its entire 20-year history by presenting at the annual conference in November and acting as an official advisor to the Accounting Doctoral Students Association (ADSA) as well as an advisor to many of the students and faculty members along the way. Dr. Dawkins is the new Dean of the Coggin College of Business at the University of North Florida and is the former Associate Dean for Academic Programs and an Associate Professor of Accounting in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia (UGA).  He received a Ph.D. in Accounting from Florida State University, MBA (finance) and Master of Accounting (auditing) degrees from the University of Florida, and a B.S. in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology.  He was a co-recipient of the 2006 and 2003 Beta Alpha Psi Outstanding Teacher of the Year award at UGA, and received the 2006 and 2003 Alpha Kappa Psi Accounting Teacher of the Year Award.  In 2009, Dr. Dawkins was one of five inaugural recipients of the Ernst & Young Inclusive Excellence Awards for Accounting and Business School Faculty.  This nationwide award recognizes faculty for mentoring diverse students and for supporting diverse students and diversity-related organizations.  One of Dr. Dawkins Hall Of Fame nominators, Dr. Pamela Smith, stated, "Mark is a constant in the PhD Project. He always attends meetings, advises students, and consistently has a positive outlook on our success. If you ask anyone familiar with the Accounting section of the PhD Project, they will immediately mention Mark Dawkins."

Dr. Qualls is the first African-American, tenured professor of business administration at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to joining the University of Illinois, he was a tenured associate professor of marketing at MIT-Sloan School of Management from 1989-1998 after starting his career as an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Michigan in 1980. In addition to these full-time appointments, he has held numerous visiting professorships at places such as the Helsinki School of Economics, Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, Sogang University in Korea, Hunan University in China, Auckland University in New Zealand, and the Universidad Gabriela Mistral in Chile. In addition to having an impact on students all over the world, Dr. Qualls has published in such journals as the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Consumer Research, Marketing Science, International Journal of Research in Marketing, Sloan Management Review, Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, Journal of Product and Innovation Management, and Journal of Business Research. He has served, or currently serves, on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing, Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Advertising, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Journal of Business Research, and Academy of Marketing and Science Review. One of his nominators for the Hall Of Fame, Dr. Lenita Davis, said, "Dr. Qualls is one of several 'Godfathers' of The PhD Project.  Inducting Dr. Qualls into the Hall of Fame will only formalize what PhD Project marketing students and faculty feel in their hearts already:  whenever Dr. Qualls enters a room at PhD Project events, students and faculty stand to attention to honor-privately and publicly-this 'living legend' in our field."

When The PhD Project was created, there were only 294 doctorally qualified African-American, Hispanic American or Native American business professors in all U.S. business schools. Today, there are 1,292 minority business professors. Further, 295 minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The PhD Project provides direct access to these individuals, so companies providing funding at or above a certain level can connect with participants and their students to share information about careers, scholarships and other educational initiatives.

The PhD Project 2015 Hall of Fame's inductees will be honored at the organization's annual conference in November. A new class of inductees is selected annually, with supporters of The PhD Project and the public invited to submit nominations for each year's class. 

The PhD Project has received ongoing support from its sponsoring companies, participating universities and organizations, and supply alliance members. Its founding organizations in addition to the KPMG Foundation, are the Graduate Management Admission Council, Citi Foundation, AACSB International. The leading corporations, foundations and associations funding it include:  300+ Participating Universities, AICPA Foundation, DiversityInc, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Rockwell Collins, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., American Marketing Association, John Deere Foundation,  CIGNA, ADP, Edison International (on behalf of the California State University System), Lincoln Financial Group, Aerotek/ TEKsystems (operating companies of Allegis Group), American Accounting Association, The Hershey Company, Academy of Management and NASBA.

For more information visit: http://www.phdproject.org/  or contact Lisa King at 646-234-5080 or Email. Connect with our members at www.MyPhDNetwork.org; Visit us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/thephdproject; Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ThePhDProject.

Contact:
Lisa King
646-234-5080
Email

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