RUSSELL SELECTED AS 1997-98 PROFESSOR-IN-RESIDENCE

Dr. Keith Russell, professor of accounting, finance and business law at Southeast Missouri State University, has been chosen Distinguished Professor-In-Residence for the Institute of Management Accountants during the 1997-1998 academic year.

He will help launch IMA's nationwide student and academic initiative.

"This is going to be a lot of fun and hard work," Russell said. "This is significant recognition for Southeast Missouri State University and for me."

With 300 student chapters, the IMA launched the Distinguished Professor-In-Residence program in fall 1996 to explore how it could best help the academic community keep up-to-date with the unprecedented changes in the job market uncovered by two IMA research efforts. The IMA studies, "The Practice Analysis of Management Accounting" and "What Corporate America Wants in Entry-Level Accountants" found that the traditional college accounting curriculum, that focuses on preparing students for the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exam, no longer reflects the current broader needs of corporations or addresses developing career opportunities.

The nationwide academic and student initiative launched by the IMA is a direct outgrowth of the Distinguished Professor-In-Residence Program.

"Focused and deliberate collaboration between business executives and the academic community is more necessary today that it has ever been," Russell said. "In order for college students to be fully prepared for the job market that awaits them, business schools must stay current with a quickly changing marketplace, and the business community has a responsibility to help us in that ongoing process."

Russell is the second to be selected to serve as IMA's Distinguished Professor-In- Residence.