The sitting SOA Director, Dr. Jennifer Mueller-Phillips, was named Harbert College of Business associate dean for Academic Affairs on Feb. 5. She begins her new duties on March 1.*

Mueller-Phillips, who has served as Director of the Auburn School of Accountancy for the past three years, noted, “Our vision is to be among the elite business schools, so we must strive to offer the student an elite business school educational experience. Our academic advising, professional development curricula, and placements are as strong as they’ve ever been. We will continue to benchmark ourselves against the best to achieve our vision.”

Mueller-Phillips, originally from Hokes Bluff, Alabama, parlayed a music scholarship at Jacksonville State University into an undergraduate accounting degree. After a brief stint in practice, she earned a Master of Accountancy and PhD at Virginia Tech before taking a faculty position at Auburn in 2000. She succeeded DeWayne Searcy as SOA Director in 2016. Prior to that role, she served the college as Director of Quality Assurance, reporting to the Associate Dean of Academic Affairs on assurance of learning and accreditation matters.

She follows Norman Godwin (also a School of Accountancy faculty member), now Auburn University’s Assistant Provost for Academic Effectiveness, as associate dean for Academic Affairs.

*Stay tuned for an announcement about new SOA leadership, which will be appointed by March 1.

(article credit: Joe McAdory)