Following an extensive national search, Dr. Kimberly Swanson Church will be joining the Missouri State College of Business as Director of the School of Accountancy effective July 1, 2020. Dr. Church is currently serving as an Assistant Professor of Accounting Information Systems at University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Church’s appointment was confirmed by the Board of Governors at the February 21, meeting.
“We are excited to have Dr. Church joining the College and School of Accountancy. Dr. Church brings an abundance of knowledge and industry experience to the position that will enrich the School of Accountancy as we prepare the next generation of graduates for the evolving accounting profession,” states College of Business Dean, David Meinert. “Dr. Church has a proven record of teaching, scholarship, and professional service. She will make an excellent addition to the College’s leadership team.”
Record of teaching, research, and service
Dr. Church is a national award-winning educator for her many classroom innovations using experiential learning techniques that best reflect real-world application of accounting concepts. She has received several educator awards including national recognitions such as the 2016 Bea Sanders/AICPA Innovation in Teaching Award Honorable Mention, the 2017 Mark Chain/FSA Innovation in Graduate Teaching Award, the 2018 Jim Bulloch Award for Innovations in Management Accounting Education and the 2019 George Krull/Grant Thornton Innovation in Junior and Senior-Level Teaching Award.
“I am excited to join the School of Accountancy to work with the experienced faculty to address the opportunities and challenges facing both the accounting profession and higher education,” states Church. “Accounting programs nationwide are investigating innovative pedagogies, breaking down barriers for hybridized skills and preparing to upskill a workforce facing automation. With the expressed commitments from Dean Meinert, Provost Einhellig and President Smart for the continued success of the School of Accountancy, I know we can face the future of preparing graduates for the evolving competencies necessary for a career in accounting.”
Dr. Church’s teaching and research interests include information systems, management accounting and disruptive technology implications for theory and practice. She has published many academic and practitioner articles. Her research has won several best paper awards and has appeared in the Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, Journal of Accounting Education and Strategic Finance.
She brings with her more than two decades of entrepreneurial and higher education experiences, including more than ten years in academic leadership roles ranging from advisory boards to national committees within the American Accounting Association (AIS, Management & Teaching sections) and the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA). She is the recipient of the national “2019 IMA Champion” award for her dedication to leadership and service within the accounting profession.
She works actively with a variety of professional organizations and serves as a frequent invited speaker on topics related to professional development and technology disruptions to the accounting profession. She currently serves as a Senior Trainer for the AICPA’s Accounting Program for Building the Profession (APBP) to improve the accounting pipeline through advanced high school accounting curriculum that provides a more realistic idea of an accounting career to attract high quality diverse entrants to the profession.
Education
Dr. Church holds a Ph.D. in accounting with an emphasis in information systems from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas, a Masters of Accountancy in taxation with an emphasis in information systems from Kansas State University and a Bachelors of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting from Pittsburg State University.