Accounting Prof and Fulbright Scholar Teaching in Czech Republic

Has there been a time in recent memory when business accounting practices were more scrutinized? The profession has rarely made headline news, until this new era of heightened awareness. Suddenly, public attention is focused on the venerable practice of watching the bottom line.

Fortunately,

Chapman University has a world-class accounting professor who helps students recognize the magnitude of their responsibility as future CFOs, accountants, and consultants. Assistant Professor Bruce Dehning, Ph.D., has taught at Chapman since 2002, imparting a world of knowledge to a new generation of business leaders who will face a myriad of challenges when they graduate.

As well, Dr. Dehning recently added a stellar accomplishment to his resume - he was named a Fulbright Scholar and is teaching this semester at Tomas Bata University in the Czech Republic, an honor that inspires awe.

'This is a chance to study how business works in the Czech Republic," he says, "which is going through many changes as one of the newest members of the European Union. To bring that knowledge back to Orange County and the Chapman classroom will be outstanding."

His research investigates the value of a company's investments in information technology. Dr. Dehning has published his work in several prominent journals and has presented papers at many prestigious national and international conferences. In 2004 he was honored as the recipient of the Wang-Fradkin Professorship, the highest honor Chapman bestows on a faculty member for scholarly activity.

A native of Longmont, Colo., Dr. Dehning is the son of an accounting professor and a former elementary school teacher and admits he was "preordained as a teacher." He graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.S. in finance in 1987. After earning three degrees from that institution, he accepted a teaching position at the University of New Hampshire, where he stayed for five years.

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Bruce Dehning, Ph.D.

But the Orange County sun beckoned, and he moved to Chapman in 2002 with his wife and two daughters.

"The biggest difference between Chapman and the other two schools where I have taught is the focus on developing the student as individuals," he says of the university. "That means starting with a broad liberal arts education, teaching them thinking and reasoning skills, teamwork, and ethics. Small classes, accessible faculty, hands-on advising, a community of students - this makes a huge difference. At some schools you might have one or two great teachers and a handful of good ones. Here - almost across the board - everyone is a great teacher. We are teaching students about what business will be like in the future, not how it was in the past."