Williams Receives Fellowship

Accounting professor Paul Williams has been awarded the first Ernst & Young Faculty Research Fellows Award in the Poole College of Management.

The fellowship provides summer support for selected accounting faculty who have demonstrated excellent research performance over at least the past five years at NC State. This includes research publications, service on the editorial boards of scholarly journals and other research activities. The fellowship is awarded for an initial period of three years.

“The college very much appreciates the support of Ernst & Young over the years, and especially this new commitment of support for faculty research,” said Dr. Frank Buckless, KPMG Professor and head of the Department of Accounting.

Ernst & Young’s relationship with NC State dates back to the late 1970s, when the accounting department was established. In 1990, the firm created the Ernst & Young Development Fund to provide financial resources for student scholarships, student organizations and faculty development. Ernst & Young currently employs approximately 100  alumni.

“We believe that great accounting programs promote scholarship and research related to emerging accounting issues,” said Mike Constantino, assurance partner and managing partner at Ernst & Young in Raleigh and Greensboro.

“The Poole College of Management at NC State is doing an outstanding job of educating the next generation of accounting practitioners,” Constantino said. “In addition to strong technical skills, they are very good problem solvers and understand the importance of community engagement.”

Williams joined NC State’s accounting faculty in 1985, and has focused his research in the area of accounting ethics, epistemology and the sociology of accounting knowledge. His research has been published in leading accounting research and practitioner journals. He teaches in the college’s undergraduate accounting and Jenkins Master of Accounting programs. In 1999, he received the Ernst & Young Outstanding Teacher Award.