By Sara Tirrito
Staff Writer

Dr. Gia Chevis, Baylor assistant professor of accounting, was recently named to the editorial board of Issues in Accounting Education, joining two other Baylor professors who are currently on the board.

Issues in Accounting Education is an international journal published by the American Accounting Association and is considered the premier journal on accounting education.

Editorial board members review and provide feedback on multiple manuscripts each year that are submitted to the journal for possible publication.

Dr. Laurie Burney, Baylor associate professor of accounting, Dr. Brett Wilkinson, Baylor associate professor, and Roderick L. Holmes, chair of accountancy, are also members of the board.

Members are often chosen based on recommendations and typically need to meet two criteria: they need to have done research in accounting education and have shown a genuine interest in teaching, Dr. Bill Pasewark, editor of the journal, said.

“That’s why there’s a lot of Baylor people on there. [Baylor] has a demonstrated interest in teaching students,” Pasewark said. “It’s easy to find good teachers at Baylor as compared to other schools. There are plenty of other people at Baylor who would be qualified to do this too, but I found three good ones and I’m happy with them.”

Chevis said she was honored to be chosen to join the editorial board and to be able to help get new information out to other professors.

“There are two major parts to our job as professors: research and education, and research into education is an important way that we improve what we do, an important way that we improve how we interact with students and help students learn,” Chevis said. “And to be part of the premier journal in this country in playing a role in helping to get that information out to educators to help them do their job better is an honor for me.”

Giving others feedback could also help her in her own research and writing, Chevis said.

“This is the first opportunity I’ve had to really be on the reviewer side of it to see what people send in and to have to construct feedback that’s useful to that author,” Chevis said. “It’s my first time on that side of the desk, so I hope it will make me a better researcher, a better submitter of papers.”

Although the board members are not paid for their work, Burney said reviewing others’ research helps her to stay up-to-date on the latest ideas and approaches to teaching.

“For us, it’s service to the profession, but it’s also a way to stay current and exposed to new ideas in education,” Burney said.

Dr. Charles Davis, Baylor chair and Walter Plumhoff professor of accounting, said having Baylor professors on the board increases both their own academic reputations and the reputation of the university, and also allows them to see research before it becomes dated. Davis has also served on the Issues in Accounting Education editorial board in the past.

“Being on the review board and seeing these things as they’re coming out for review, you get to see the latest research before others are reading it,” Davis said. “So it sort of keeps you on your toes and keeps you up on what the latest thinking is in the area.”

Other members of the Baylor accounting department who serve on editorial review boards include Davis, who serves for Strategic Finance and Management Accounting Quarterly; Dr. Michael Robinson, professor of accounting, who serves for IMA Education Case Journal; and Dr. Marty Stuebs, assistant professor of accounting, who serves for Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting.

Dr. Bill Thomas, professor of accounting, works with Today’s CPA as the technical editor and accounting and auditing Editor.