Eller College Names School of Accountancy after Beloved Professor and Lifelong UA family
Tucson, Ariz. (September 28, 2020)—To honor two lasting legacies, the University of Arizona Eller College of Management has named its School of Accountancy the Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy, effective Fall 2020.
The Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy is named in part after Dan Dhaliwal, who attended UA for his master’s and doctoral degrees in accounting. The Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy is also named in honor of long-time University of Arizona alumni and donors James Reidy ’54 BSBA (Accounting), ’55 MBA and his wife Virginia Reidy ’50 BS (Education), ’54 M.Ed.
“The passion and gratitude that Jim and Virginia Reidy have for the University of Arizona are palpable when you talk to them,” says Eller Dean Paulo Goes. “I am humbled by their generosity and am proud to be able to have their names forever combined with Dan Dhaliwal’s name to bring top level education and future success to generations of students and scholars in the outstanding Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy.”
The extended Reidy family also consists of a long list of UA alumni—James’s brother and father both graduated with degrees in accounting as well. Now residing in Santa Monica, California, James was a professor of computer science at Pierce College after a long career with IBM, and Virginia spent more than 30 years in the education field. Their support includes a commitment to create two endowed chairs within the School of Accountancy.
“Dan Dhaliwal was a principled leader and a uniquely influential researcher,” continues Goes. “The strength of the accounting department at the University and the impact his research has had on tax accounting and policy are only part of his legacy. The other part is intangible—the many people he mentored, all of whom benefitted from the personal responsibility he felt for their success.”
Following graduation in 1977, Professor Dhaliwal began as an assistant professor of accounting at the University of Iowa. He returned to his alma mater, starting as an associate professor of accounting in 1980. He was awarded the Frances McClelland Endowed Chair of Accounting and was head of the Department of Accounting for 20 years—serving at Eller in total for more than 35 years. Dhaliwal was one of the top researchers in the world in financial and tax accounting and mentored 60 PhD students at UA. He passed away in 2016, and his students, fellow faculty and other supporters of the School of Accountancy extensively donated to the naming to honor his legacy.
“We are grateful to the Reidy’s and all contributors to this important naming initiative,” says Jeff Schatzberg, director of the School of Accountancy and current holder of the Frances McClelland Endowed Chair of Accounting. “Dan shaped the accounting department into what it is today—and it’s a mark of who he was that so many people stepped forward to have his name forever associated with the school. Equally, impressive, Jim and Virginia Reidy represent the very best of UA alumni, and their passion and support of the School of Accountancy makes it incredibly fitting they will always be remembered as part of the School of Accountancy as well.”
Contributions continue to be made, and a formal naming ceremony will be announced when possible.
About the Eller College of Management’s Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy: From leading faculty research to student experiences that fuel their real-world success, Eller’s Dhaliwal-Reidy School of Accountancy is as much an academic beacon as a career-prep powerhouse. It is ranked among the top 50 accounting undergraduate and graduate programs in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020 Best Colleges rankings with the accounting undergraduate program ranked #25 among public universities and the graduate program ranking #16 among public universities.