For some, distance makes the heart grow fonder.
For PwC Professor of Accountancy Natalie Churyk, the distance of her sabbatical not only cemented her love for her teaching career, but it also allowed her the perspective to grow more productive than ever.
After 23 years of working as a professor (assistant, associate and full) full time in the Department of Accountancy within the College of Business, Churyk applied for her second sabbatical before the pandemic began in 2019. By the time her sabbatical began in fall 2020, her brother had just passed away from cancer and in-person classes had been postponed indefinitely. It seemed like the right time to pause.
“I was emotionally and physically exhausted,” Churyk said, “and then we went into [the pandemic]. I was so grateful to have that opportunity to step back. But it did give me time to reflect on what was important, because sometimes you start just going through the motions. And, I mean, I love working with archival data. I’ve worked with SEC accounting and audit enforcement releases in my prior research. This was a chance for me to do that.”
Churyk, who teaches financial reporting and accounting research, found many ways to stay busy during her sabbatical, which was focused primarily on the research topic of “The Impact of Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Enforcement Actions on the Accounting Profession.” Her project focused on firms that did not correct audit deficiencies related to auditing standards, financial standards and SEC regulations after one year. She created a database that was analyzable for this comparison.
“My research involved a lot of hand collecting of data,” Churyk said. “It took another two years to collect the data because it’s so time-intensive to collect.”
Churyk’s research yielded two publications. During this time, Churyk also co-authored a textbook update for the 10th edition of “Accounting and Auditing Research: Tools and Strategies.” She took part in one academic panel and won the American Accounting Association’s (AAA) TLC Best Paper Award in 2022 from research produced during her sabbatical. In the years since taking time to recharge, Churyk has been even more productive, having completed three more publications, six keynote/plenary speeches and sitting on eight panels. She also was awarded the 2023 AAA GIWB Section Best Paper Award, Illinois CPA Society’s 2022 Outstanding Educator Award and the AAA’s TLC Hall of Honor Award in 2021.
Churyk was also contacted by American Institute of Certified Public Accountants to join a global group of researchers on teaching excellence — an ongoing experience that connects Churyk to 12 experts in her field worldwide.
“This group’s research has morphed into eight working projects and papers now,” Churyk said.
One of the most important results of Churyk’s sabbatical was its effect on her classes and students. Her reflection on what her students needed for success led to chapter redesigns, textbook changes and multiple presentations.
“The students need to be critically thinking. In the undergraduate program, for instance, I was able to take cases that I’d used in my graduate course, but I took the cases and scaffolded them to where students would turn in responses to one question a week. That way, I could immediately provide feedback that helped them develop skills in real time. They were able to adjust their thinking and understand the next question better.”
Churyk has never been one to rest on her laurels. In 2015, she became editor-in-chief of Journal of Accounting Education and has served as president of various AAA sections and regions over the years. She was also elected to the AAA board of directors as vice president of education in 2023.
With all the recent accolades and achievements, Churyk remains focused on her initial goal — to be an excellent teacher in accounting. Her passion for teaching began decades ago when she was growing up in Connecticut.
“I always wanted to be a teacher. I loved school, and I played school. You know, my father would have carbon copies from his business as a water well driller, and back then, we didn’t have Xerox machines. And so, I would make exams on his leftover carbon copies,” she recalled.
Even though school was her happy place, she “wasn’t fond of PE class.”
“The rule in our high school was that if you passed PE for certain number of years, you could take business courses,” she said with a laugh. “That’s what motivated me. When I went to high school, I was able to take classes in each of the business disciplines, and I just said, ‘Wow, I love accounting!’ So, I was off to be an accountant and CPA.”
Churyk was a first-generation college student, earning her B.S. degree in accountancy from California State University Long Beach. She then spent a decade in California where she earned her CPA license in that state. After enrolling in the MBA program at the same university, Churyk had a revelation.
“I realized I could teach at the college level, which I had no clue about…,” she said. “I didn’t understand until I got into college that I could do that. From then on, I combined accounting and teaching and became an accounting professor.”
Having been at NIU since 2001, when she came as a full-time assistant professor, Churyk has made Illinois her home.
“It’s the support of the NIU accountancy department, the college, the university. In our department, they say ‘follow your passion,’” she said. “I ended up on this path of more involved in education and education research and working with teaching cases. And then I bring that to the students.
“To me, this has always been what drove me to education. It’s the sparkle in a student’s eye when they get a concept, when it clicks. That’s really what drew me to it.”
Churyk suggests that all faculty members seize the opportunity to take a sabbatical when they are eligible for the opportunity.
“(Sabbatical) really gives you the time to recharge, and you end up with so many good deliverables from it. In the classroom, in your research and through the new connections you make, I think everyone benefits from it.”
