Gift Establishes New Accounting Professorship

A pioneering member of the UT Dallas School of Management faculty has made possible a new distinguished professorship that pays tribute to the excellence of the school’s accounting program and endows its future strength.

A gift from Dr. Adolf J.H. Enthoven, who has taught at the School of Management for more than three decades, sparked creation of the new position. His generosity and matching funds from the School of Management created the $250,000 professorship. The new post will carry his name, the Adolf Enthoven Distinguished Professorship in Accounting and Information Management.

Enthoven, professor of accounting and information management and director of the University’s Center for International Accounting Development, said he donated the gift in appreciation for the way the school has cultivated its accounting program. “I have been at The University of Texas at Dallas for 34 years. When I first came here, there was no accounting program,” Enthoven recalled. “Nobody knew who UT Dallas was, and they have done a remarkable job of developing a fine school. I thought that it was time I gave something back to them.”

In expressing appreciation for the gift, School of Management Dean Hasan Pirkul said the new professorship appropriately ensures that “as one of the founding professors of our school, Dr. Enthoven will not be forgotten.”

“It is fitting that Dr. Enthoven’s name will be associated with our school forever,” Dean Pirkul said, “because of his many contributions and accomplishments.”

A noted expert on international accounting who has written numerous books and papers on the subject, Enthoven has also established oil and gas financial management programs for developing countries. Through the accounting development center, which is based in the School of Management, and with the assistance of experts in various fields, he offers an intensive advanced international program.

Designed for mid- and upper-level personnel in oil-producing countries outside the United States, the program focuses on the critical financial management aspects of the industry for countries that are experiencing a transition in their economic system. The center has worked with companies and public organizations in the former republics of the Soviet Union as well as in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and elsewhere to help emerging economies navigate their changing realities.

“UT Dallas has allowed us to bring into focus oil and gas financial management, including accounting, which makes us pretty unique,” Enthoven said. “I think some universities offer a course in international accounting, but they are not oriented toward transitional and emerging economics.”

The professorship will further establish the university’s role as a global teacher, he said. “It gives the school even more recognition. It is just one more way that UT Dallas sets itself apart.”

“As one of our longest-serving professors, Dr. Enthoven already has given generously to the School of Management in terms of his outstanding professional service, exceptional commitment and dedicated leadership over many decades,” Dean Pirkul said. “That he also unselfishly gives us a monetary gift of this stature for an endowment sends a wonderful message about his belief in our efforts, and it sets an example for others to follow.”

While a search to fill the new professorship has informally launched, no deadlines have been set, and the school, the dean said, is most interested in ensuring that “the right candidate has an opportunity to present him- or herself.”