DENVER— The University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business today announced the appointment of Sharon Lassar, Ph.D. and CPA, as Director of the College’s School of Accountancy. Dr. Lassar comes from Florida International University (FIU) where she served as Director of FIU’s School of Accounting, leading it through its most recent accreditation process by the Association for Advancement of Colleges of Business as well as its first placement in BusinessWeek’s ranking of top accounting programs.
Dr. Lassar is a Florida Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and was most recently Vice President of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA). She directed several key initiatives at the FICPA, including transforming financial literacy and women’s leadership development programs into standing programs. Under her leadership, the FICPA Accounting Shows Committee was awarded “Outstanding Committee” in 2008. She served on the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Minority Initiatives Committee, awarded the 2009 Diversity Section Excellence Award from the American Accounting Association for exemplary service.
Dr. Lassar received the 2005 American Taxation Association/Deloitte Teaching Innovation Award for her contributions to accounting education including a web-based training program she developed for students. She has been an active member of the Audit Advisory Committee for the City of Miami, the Corporate Advisory Board of the Association of Latino Professionals in Finance in Accounting (ALPFA) – the largest minority professional association in the country – and as a member of the Minority Initiatives Committee of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Dr. Lassar’s award-winning research has been published in journals such as Journal of Accountancy, Taxes – The Tax Magazine, The CPA Journal, The Journal of Legal Tax Research, and Tax Adviser.
“The research, teaching and service work of Dr. Lassar has been recognized with numerous awards and accolades and we are excited to have her expertise at Daniels,” said Daniels Dean Christine Riordan. “What makes her unique is her substantial scholarly background, her leadership experience and talent, and a passionate commitment to increasing the participation of diverse students in accounting and other areas of business. She has an extraordinary gift to make a difference in the lives of our future business leaders.”
Dr. Lassar earned her Ph.D. at the University of Southern California, her Master of Taxation at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts and her Bachelor’s in Accounting from West Virginia University.
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As the eighth-oldest collegiate school of business in the country, Daniels has built a curriculum that focuses on important issues such as ethical business practice, globalization, entrepreneurship, and values-based leadership. In the Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s annual ranking of the Best Undergraduate Business Programs by Specialty in May 2010, Daniels was ranked the third-best in the U.S. in ethics; No. 27 in accounting; No. 31 in marketing; No. 40 in sustainability; and No. 50 in financial management. In April 2010, U.S. News’ part time M.B.A. ranking placed the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business program in the top 70 in the U.S. In November 2009, BusinessWeek ranked the Daniels’ Professional MBA program for working professionals 53rd in the country, the only Colorado business school in the rankings. In October 2009, the Daniels College of Business Executive MBA program was ranked No. 85 in the world by the Financial Times – the sole Colorado school to be ranked – in addition to being named No. 20 in the world for teaching of business ethics by the Aspen Institute. For more information, visit: daniels.du.edu.
Contact: Julie Lucas
(303) 871-3379
julie.lucas@du.edu