Dr. Bill Chapman, who held the title of Boswell Professor of Business and chair of the Oscar Parker Ethics Center, will be honored with East Central University’s Distinguished Former Faculty Award on May, 11, at ECU’s 2018 Evening of Honors and Recognition.
Chapman became the chair of ECU’s Department of Business Administration and Accounting in 1973 and over the next 14 years, the student enrollment and the number of business faculty more than doubled.
During his tenure, Chapman took pride in his accounting graduates, many of which became CPAs. He helped graduates find employment and helped raise scholarship money for the School of Business. Funds for four professorships in the School of Business were obtained through the efforts of Chapman.
“Every corner of the state, I encounter successful professionals who have been influenced by Dr. Chapman,” said ECU President Katricia G. Pierson. “His devotion to students reverberates to this day and should for many years to come.”
In 1995, Chapman was honored by the Oklahoma Society of CPAs as the Outstanding Accounting Educator in Oklahoma. He retired from ECU in 1995, but came back to serve as interim business dean in 2007 and continued to teach in the Accounting Department until 2011.
“The success of our students is my success. So many became CPAs and leaders in the accounting field,” said Chapman. “From 1971 when I first got there, we always had really outstanding students and some of them will be honored on May 11.”
A couple of those students being honored include Janice Gray, who will receive a Distinguished Alumni Award, and Russ Allen, who will be on hand for the Distinguished Family Award. Janice and her husband Rodney, also an ECU graduate, opened a successful accounting business which is still going strong. Allen is in the banking and investment business.
Preparing his students for the CPA exam was vitally important to Chapman.
“Seeing them pass the CPA exam is reward enough. I had a good faculty to work with and I’m really honored to receive this award,” Chapman said.
Chapman joined the ECU faculty in 1971 after serving four years as an officer in the Air Force. In 1972, he successfully passed the CPA examination and, in 1982, he received his Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Oklahoma. Prior to joining the ECU faculty, he completed his undergraduate work in accounting at the University of Tulsa and a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Florida.
Chapman and his wife, Sheril, continue to reside in Ada.
NOTE: Tickets and sponsorships are still available for ECU’s Evening of Honors and Recognition. For more information or to register, contact Kacy Clark at kclark@ecok.edu or at 580-559-5587 or go online at alumni.ecok.edu/event/EOH2018.
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