Appointed to the Tisone Chair in Accounting at CU's College of Business and Administration this spring, David Guenther brings years of professional experience as a CPA and an outstanding scholarly reputation to the college.
Guenther, a CPA who holds a doctorate from the University of Washington, said he enjoys preparing accounting students for the real world. "You can tell the students what it's going to be like," he said. "It's helpful to have that background. No textbook can share that kind of information."
Through the generosity of Myrtle Tisone, who donated $1.6 million to the College of Business, the Tisone Chair was established in 1995. Wishing to remain anonymous until after her death, Tisone's donation was the largest ever received by the College of Business at that time.
But her monetary gift is only part of her legacy at CU. Tony Tisone, who graduated from CU's College of Engineering and Applied Science in 1939, and Myrtle hired college students to work at the Sinton Dairy in Denver, where Tony was president. The students became part of the family.
After Tony's death in 1985, Myrtle continued to help students at CU by establishing the Tisone Scholarships and Faculty Awards at the colleges of business and engineering.
"They must have felt a fondness to CU and a desire to increase the quality of education," Guenther said.
Given the opportunity to endow a full professorship in accounting, the college wanted an accomplished scholar in the field, as well as someone who could convey the importance of a strong professional education. The Tisone Chair will give Guenther the opportunity to teach, continue his research on how taxes affect business issues, be published in top academic journals and help other faculty and doctoral students with their research.
"We are a professional school, and sometimes people don't think of us as a resource for cutting-edge research," Guenther said. "But research is valuable in the business world as it helps people better understand how business issues affect each other.
"The college is being positioned rapidly to compete with top graduate and undergraduate business programs," Guenther said. "I hope to be a good example of how faculty can meld professional experience, teaching skills and research to explore business fields."
After receiving a doctorate from the University of Washington in Seattle in 1990, Guenther moved to Connecticut, where he was a professor of accounting at the University of Conneticut. But the desire to move back West, and the opportunity to contribute to a dynamic teaching and research environment, motivated Guenther to apply for the Tisone Chair – a position that is renewed every five years.
As a professor of financial accounting, Guenther is thrilled to be able to bring his expertise and CPA experience to the classroom. "It's nice to introduce undergrads to using the results of research to make informed decisions," Guenther said.