The Accounting Week will kick off with a reception for accounting alumni on Monday, Sept. 19, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at the university’s Maxwell Alumni House. Accounting alumni will have the opportunity to network with other alumni and colleagues as well as  learn about the latest developments of the Knox School of Accountancy.

Other events will include an Automatic Data Processing, Inc. information session on Tuesday,  and a certified public accountant  licensure information session hosted by the Georgia Society of CPAs on Wednesday. On Thursday, Sept. 22,  an Accounting Career Night will be held from 6-8 p.m., providing an opportunity for students to connect with accounting employers as well as to learn about employment opportunities available within the field.

Accounting Week will culminate with mock Interviews being conducted on Friday.

Employers and alumni may register for the events by contacting Melissa Furman, assistant dean in ASU’s Hull College of Business, at 706-729-2056.
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The Knox School of Accountancy was approved and established in September following a unanimous recommendation of the faculty. The request followed a major gift from the Knox Foundation of $2 million to advance the accountancy program in the Hull College and to establish an endowed chair in accounting. The Knox Foundation unanimously voted to honor the late Peter Knox III with the endowed chair; the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, at their November meeting, approved the establishment of the Peter S. Knox III Distinguished Chair of Accounting.

“We are grateful to the Knox Foundation and the Knox family for such a generous gift, which will lend support to an already great faculty in the School of Accountancy and help us become one the nation’s premier accounting schools,” says Dr. Miller, adding, “We are very honored to bear the name of the Knox Family, and we thank them for lending their name to ours in our quest for excellence. I can promise that we will live up to the ideals and honor that signify the Knox name.”

Mr. Peter Knox directed the growth of an Augusta-based brick company into one of the largest real estate investment trusts in the country. He became president of Merry Brick Company in 1974 and led the company until it became one of the nation’s largest brick manufacturers. In 1981, Australia-based Boral Ltd. acquired an 80 percent stake in the company, leaving ownership of the clay lands to Mr. Knox and other Merry Brick Company shareholders. As a result, a new venture was established, Merry Land & Investment Company, which bought and managed apartment complexes throughout the Southeast. At the time of Mr. Knox’s death in 1996, Merry Land & Investment Company had assets exceeding $1 billion.

“I am proud and humbled that our school will bear his name for eternity and strive to exemplify the ideals and principles that he showed in his daily life not only as a businessman, but as a person of integrity, honor, and dignity,” says Dr. Miller.

“By all accounts, Mr. Knox had an extremely keen intellect and incredibly strong analytical and decision making skills, coupled with an extraordinary sense of ethics and social responsibility. These are all of the traits that we strive diligently to instill in the graduates of our accounting program. It is a fitting tribute that his memory will be embodied in the thousands of people who receive a business education from the Knox School of Accountancy,” he added.

President Bloodworth added his appreciation. “I want to thank the Knox  Foundation for its generous support of the Hull College. The Knox generosity will benefit the entire community as our accounting graduates take their places in local and national businesses,” says President Bloodworth. “I’m especially pleased that Jim Hull and Boone Knox understand how powerful an effect they can have by assisting our students.  The Hull College and the Knox School of Accountancy are major steps forward for Augusta State University and the greater Augusta community.”

Already the James M. Hull College of Business is ranked among the top business schools in the nation by the prestigious Princeton Review—and it holds distinguished accreditation from the AACSB—Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business, one of only 473  in the world. Mr. Joey Styron, associate professor of accounting, has been named director of the Knox School of Accountancy. Other accounting faculty members include Dr. Pam Jackson, Dr. Jeff Miller, Mr. Robert Smalley, and Ms. B. J. Blackwood.

The Peter S. Knox III Distinguished Chair of Accounting will be awarded to a distinguished scholar in the accounting field who provides service to the Knox School of Accountancy through teaching, research, and service to the community. In addition to providing the highest quality teaching to both graduate and undergraduate students, the chair holder will establish and nurture relationships with the professional accounting community in order to ensure that the curriculum remains on the forefront of the accounting discipline.

For more information, contact Kathy Schofe, director of public relations, in ASU’s Office of Public Relations and Publications at 706-737-1878.
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Faculty in the Hull College recommended the school be established following a major gift from the Knox Foundation. The Knox gift of $2 million also provided an endowed chair in the accountancy program. The Peter S. Knox III endowed chair of accounting received approval from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents in November.

For more information, call ASU’s Office of Public Relations at 706-737-1444.
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“Dedicating the Knox School of Accountancy is not only a great occasion for the Hull College, but is an event of great significance for our university and for our community. Winston Churchill noted that it is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see. Well, the generosity of the Knox Family has allowed us to look further than we thought possible at this time—it sets the stage for us to be among the top tier of business schools in the nation,” says Dr. Marc Miller, ASU’s dean of the Hull College of Business.

Already, the Hull College is on the list of the top 296 business schools in the nation, according to the annual ranking of the prestigious Princeton Review. Since accounting is considered to be a cornerstone of a world-class business school, says Dr. Miller, the Knox School of Accountancy will only raise the prestige and reputation of the Hull College, which will in turn benefit our business community.

The Knox Foundation gave the first major gift of $2 million to support an accountancy school in the Hull College of Business and an endowed chair. The Peter S. Knox III endowed chair of accounting recently received approval from the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.

In recognition of the support of the Knox Foundation to the Hull College, the Faculty Policies Committee recommended the naming of the Knox School of Accountancy on Sept. 9. The Knox Foundation and James M. Hull made major gifts to Augusta State University totaling $3 million to assist in the growth and development of the accountancy program in the Hull College. Both the Knox Foundation and James M. Hull are well known for their philanthropic efforts in the community and state.

For more information, call ASU’s Office of Public Relations at 706-737-1444.
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