The “yes and” mindset — an exercise geared first toward affirmation and then building upon ideas — comes naturally to Donald E. Kieso Endowed Chair in Accountancy Rebecca Shortridge. She took to it like a husky in winter during a Second City Theatre workshop for the program’s students and faculty. The truth is that “yes and” has always been Rebecca’s mantra.
She earned her Ph.D. at Michigan State University and both her B.S. in accounting and her MBA from Indiana University. She earned her CPA (inactive) and worked in public accounting for five years before returning to school to be an educator. In 2005, Shortridge joined the college as an assistant professor in accountancy. With six years previous experience, her contributions grew quickly. Her teaching focus included the undergraduate courses financial reporting I and financial reporting II. She also taught the master level course financial statement analysis and business valuation. For the latter, she received two Federation of Schools of Accountancy/Mark Chain Innovation in Graduate Teaching awards. The award recognizes exceptional graduate accounting course practices and is granted by the AICPA, the largest professional accounting organization in the world.
By 2006, her second year at NIU, Shortridge applied for and earned promotion to associate professor. Later in that same year, she was selected to receive the prestigious named professorship: the Gaylen and Joanne Larson Professor of Accountancy. In 2010, then-accountancy chair Jim Young tapped Shortridge to serve as the department’s assistant chair. Her duties expanded to leadership roles in the areas of alumni engagement, industry and academic outreach activities and department operations. In 2013, her duties expanded again to include leading the department’s Master of Accounting Science program.
By 2016, just 11 years after her start with NIU and upon Young’s retirement from administrative leadership, Shortridge was selected to head the department. Upon doing so, she also received the prestigious Donald E. Kieso Endowed Chair in Accountancy professorship. As accountancy’s first female academic chair, Shortridge broke the glass ceiling and established a significant milestone in the college’s longest standing and most highly regarded department. She also enjoyed an overwhelming vote of confidence from colleagues and staff in the department and the college overall.
As she transitioned from faculty ranks to department head, she was also tapped to serve on the university’s Academic Program Prioritization Task Force. A team of 21 members spent every Friday together in spring 2016 to discuss and evaluate all the academic programs on campus. “We read approximately 600 pages a week in preparation for the meetings, which were sometimes challenging,” Shortridge recalls. Five years later, she remains engaged with many from that group. “Pre-COVID-19, we shared breakfast together a few times a semester. We celebrate accomplishments and share challenges. Learning so much about other areas on campus and connecting with this group has been invaluable.”
Externally, Shortridge participates in many national and industry groups, most notably the Federation of Schools of Accountancy (FSA). FSA hosts two primary national events: The Deloitte/FSA Faculty consortium at Deloitte University and the American Accounting Association’s Accounting Programs Leadership Group/FSA Seminar for Accounting Chairs and Directors. Shortridge served on the FSA board of directors before eventually leading the organization as FSA president. In 2018, she received the FSA/Joseph A. Silvoso Faculty Merit Award for her outstanding work.
When asked to describe internal or external activities she’s most proud of, Shortridge mentions two initiatives as standouts: 1) Enhancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the Department of Accountancy, and 2) Working to increase the coverage of analytics.
DEI initiatives she has championed include her lengthy service as faculty advisor to the student organization the Association of Latino Professionals for America (ALPFA) and guiding ALPFA in the creation of the Latinos in Business Day event; hosting the Accounting Career Awareness Program in partnership with the student organization National Association of Black Accountants (NABA); collaborating with PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC) executives to present the PwC Diversity Pledge to the NIU president and securing the president’s signature on it; and increasing the department’s focus on analytics by hiring faculty innovators in the field, among them Martin Ndicu and Matt Pickard who both hold Ph.D.s in information systems as well as by supporting the creation of new required classes and certificates in analytics for the bachelor and master level accounting programs, respectively.
“Most would be happy with the list of Rebecca’s accomplishments over their entire career and Rebecca did all of this 16 years,” says Balaji Rajagopalan, dean of the college. “Yet her professional growth continues to hold immense promise.”
In June 2021, she leaves NIU to take on a new position, that of the Rollins chair of accounting and department head at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga (UTC). To the position, she brings a vita chock-full of impactful experiences and accomplishments and many great ideas to help this young program grow. Ever entrepreneurial, Shortridge can’t wait to jump in and build. As importantly, she enthusiastically shares some invaluable learnings she gained while at NIU.
“I remember talking to Rowene Linden, then assistant to the chair, when I first became the chair. She recommended that I focus on one or two objectives a year. That definitely never happened. I have lots of ideas and tried to implement many through my time at NIU. I also had to learn to delegate and rely on my amazing administrative team of Margaret Berg, Angie Listy, Kristy Ross, Steve Kispert and Angela Gray. Working with alumni and asking for donations was also a big challenge for me. I used to be reserved and shy (imagine that). The team at the foundation and the dean have been great partners. Having fantastic alumni who are willing to give back makes it so much easier. NIU has given me many opportunities that I might not have had.”
Yet as her numerous fans and friends throughout the institution know, Shortridge has a deeply ingrained love of learning and predisposition toward innovation. It’s in her DNA. Literally. Her grandmother was a kindergarten teacher who purchased a church building to host kindergarten before it was included in public schools. Her mother and father both taught at various times — her mother teaching music and business while her father taught high school math and science. Her mother continued her education and earned a Ph.D. in business education and then led a branch campus for a small university.
It’s little wonder Shortridge has such a kinship for the transformative nature of education.
“I love seeing the impact a university degree can have on students and the role faculty can play as mentors and cheerleaders,” Shortridge says. “At least eight of my students have gone on to earn Ph.D.s in accounting. One served as a post-graduate technical assistant with the Financial Accounting Standards Board, which is recognized by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as the designated accounting standard setter for public companies. One did a two-year rotation as staff member at the International Accounting Standards Board in London (she had never flown before), and many others have rewarding careers.”
“In many ways, Rebecca is the ultimate torchbearer for education,” says Rajagopalan. “Rebecca has made an extraordinary impact in the accountancy department and the college overall. Even more, Rebecca’s contributions have had a powerful impact in the lives of thousands of our alumni. I am fortunate to have had an opportunity to work with her. She is a wonderful colleague, a good friend and a true leader in every sense of the word. We sincerely thank Rebecca for all her many contributions. And while we will miss her and wish her great continued success, we are confident in the knowledge that Rebecca will always remain an NIU Huskie throughout the rest of her brilliant career.”
— M. De Jean, Director of Marketing, NIU Business
