Sweeney first ‘Distinguished Professor of Accounting’

Accounting Professor John T. Sweeney has been appointed the new Ted Saldin Distinguished Professor of Accounting position by the WSU College of Business and Economics.

“It is fitting that a scholar and teacher of the caliber of Dr. Sweeney is our first Saldin Professor,” said CBE Dean Eric Spangenberg. “Dr. Saldin had a great impact on accounting education in our college and, very importantly, on the lives of the thousands of students he taught. We’re very pleased to honor both professors through this appointment. We also thank the many accounting alumni and friends that made the professorship a reality through their generous support.”

Sweeney joined the WSU faculty in 1998 and became a full professor in 2004. He earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Quincy University, his MBA from Southern Illinois University, and has a doctorate in accounting/social psychology from the University of Missouri. He worked at Ernst & Whinney and taught at Eastern Oregon State University and the University of Missouri before coming to Pullman.

He enjoys developing research ideas and designing methodology to test the hypotheses coming from the research questions, he said. His recent research has examined the psychology of moral and ethical development specific to the accounting profession as well as organizational issues important in the domain of public accounting, such as burnout and stress.

Saldin was on the WSU faculty for 40 years, from 1947 until his retirement in 1987, when he received the Distinguished Career Service Award from the college. He led the accounting program for some time and was also a WSU Ombudsman.

Saldin and his wife, Eva Jean Fisher, raised five children in the Pullman area. He served the community as a member of the Pullman City Council and the Pullman Planning Commission, as well as the Council for Aging and Long-term Care for Eastern Washington.

Saldin recently commented that he is honored to have a distinguished professorship created and named in his honor through gifts from his former students. He is pleased with the naming of Sweeney to that position.

“It’s a great honor to hold this professorship with Ted’s name on it,”said Sweeney. “Ted’s definitely a legend around here for how he cared for his students.”

Brad Jackson (’85, Accounting), chief executive officer of Two Degrees LLC. and Gina Meyers (’85, Accounting), senior vice president and controller of Captaris Inc., helped to rally accounting alumni around the initiative to honor Saldin. “Dr. Saldin cared deeply about all of his students and had a profound impact on our lives,” said Meyers. “Creating this professorship is a special way for us to honor him and continue his legacy at WSU through
Dr. Sweeney.”

The Saldin Professorship is the fifteenth esteemed position that is fully funded in the WSU business college.