Volume 12, Number 1, 2003
W hen he retired in 1993, William Markell, the first chairperson of the University's accounting department, recalled his arrival on campus 35 years earlier.
"When I first came to Delaware, there were almost no women in the accounting classes--at the most, maybe one or two," he said. "These days, women make up almost one-half of the accounting majors, and our women alumni are employed in a variety of organizations."
This past year, three recipients of a scholarship named in Markell's honor were all young women, all majoring in accounting.
The scholarship that honors Markell, now Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor Emeritus of Accounting in the Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, was created when he retired. Contributions to the fund have been, and are continuing to be, made by former students, financial and industrial organizations, colleagues, friends and family.
The scholarship is awarded to an incoming freshman accounting major in the amount of $1,000 per year. If the recipients maintain their grades, the scholarship is renewed each school year for a total of four years. Students who are considered for the awards must have demonstrated commitment to education and service to the profession and community, all qualities espoused by Markell as the hallmarks of an accounting professional.
The scholarships also serve to encourage deserving students to enter the College's accounting program, to perform at a high standard of academic excellence and to follow Markell's model of service as an accounting professional.
"When we set up the scholarship program, I wanted it to be based on academics rather than need," he says. "Especially in accounting, I believe it's important to attract high-achieving students."
Mary Erickson, BE 2003, was a Markell Scholar during her undergraduate years. As a senior, she worked part time at the Cover + Rossiter accounting firm in Wilmington, Del., and took a full-time job there upon graduation. This fall, she'll take the examination to become a certified public accountant and, within two years, is planning to pursue a master's degree in business administration.
"I didn't know anything about the Markell Scholarship until I was notified that I would be receiving it," she says. "I didn't realize the significance of it until learning how few people receive it."
Erickson says she started her UD career as an engineering major but switched to accounting, something she had enjoyed in high school. She was a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the accounting honor society, and the National Scholars and Golden Key international honor societies.
Heather Steigerwalt, BE 2003, also just graduated with a degree in accounting and a minor in management information systems. In October, she will start working at Ernst & Young, an international auditing and consulting firm. Eventually, she says, she also hopes to return to school to earn an MBA.
"I was honored to have been chosen as a Markell Scholarship recipient," she says. "During my freshman year, the Markells invited me to their house for dinner. They are truly genuine, generous people."
Markell says he and his wife, Elaine, try to meet the scholarship recipients and enjoy getting to know them.
Steigerwalt was a member of the Accounting Students Association and served as its president during the 2001-02 school year. She was the accounting representative on the Business and Economics Student Advisory Board and a member of Beta Alpha Psi and Beta Gamma Sigma, the business honor society. This spring at Honors Day, she received the Bruce Evans Award, for the senior accounting major with the highest grade point average, and the Panel of Distinguished Seniors award.
Amy Lambert, BE 2006, who has just completed her freshman year as an accounting major, describes herself as "very honored and flattered" to have been named a Markell Scholar. "I've tried to work harder in my classes to live up to the expectations the award holds," she says.
"My mom actually suggested this major because I'm good with numbers and keeping things in order. My grandfather was also an accountant, so it sort of runs in my family."
When Markell joined the faculty in 1958, he was a recent graduate of Columbia University with a doctoral degree in education. His field of research was accounting education in developing countries.
During his years at UD, he ranked among the country's most respected contemporary accounting educators and administrators. He is recognized as having been instrumental in achieving full accreditation for all the University's accounting programs from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business and in earning full membership status for the accounting department in the Federation of Schools of Accountancy. He also was largely responsible for the formation of an accounting alumni group.
In 1991, Markell was named the University's first Arthur Andersen Alumni Professor of Accounting--the first endowed professorship in the accounting department.
During retirement, he has been a Fulbright lecturer at Matej Bel University in Slovakia, where he also was adviser to the accounting department. He remains active with UD's Hillel student organization as a board member.
This spring, Markell and his wife received the University's Jewish Community Leadership Award for their outstanding contributions to UD and its community of Jewish students, faculty and staff.
In his remarks at the awards ceremony, Provost Dan Rich said, "[The Markells] are among those very special individuals who enhance the quality of the institutions of which they are a part, not only by their direct actions and generous contributions, but also because their lives exemplify the values of personal integrity and community service."
--Beth Thomas