Professor to Receive Outstanding Educator Award

PROVO, Utah – Aug 05, 2016 – Douglas Prawitt will be the first BYU professor to receive the American Accounting Association Outstanding Educator Award, joining an extensive lineup of scholars from highly ranked accounting schools such as University of Texas at Austin, University of Illinois and Stanford University.

“This award came as a real surprise,” Prawitt says. “It is both gratifying and humbling to be recognized at a national level. This honor wouldn’t be possible without the great environment BYU and the School of Accountancy provide or the incredible colleagues and students I have the honor of working with.”

Only a maximum of two nominees are selected each year for the AAA award. Awardees are chosen based on scholarly contributions such as publications, excellence in teaching, educational innovation and research guidance to graduate students.

Prawitt and University of Rochester professor Jerold Zimmerman will be presented with the award at the AAA Annual Meeting in New York City this month. They will each receive a $2,500 prize, and an additional $2,500 will be donated to the AAA on their behalf and used according to the professors’ wishes.

Prawitt adds this award to an already impressive track record. He has received multiple honors over the years, including the Marriott School's Outstanding Faculty Award, the BYU Wesley P. Lloyd Award for Distinction in Graduate Education and the Deloitte Wildman Medal Award. Prawitt has also written numerous award-winning articles and leading textbooks on auditing and is the founder of the School Of Accountancy’s PhD prep program.

“Doug is incredibly deserving of this award,” says Jeff Wilks, School of Accountancy director and EY professor. “He’s an amazing teacher and an outstanding researcher, and has served on countless professional committees and standard-setting bodies throughout his career. We are so fortunate to have him.”

The Marriott School is located at Brigham Young University, the largest privately owned, church-sponsored university in the United States. The school has nationally recognized programs in accounting, business management, entrepreneurship, finance, information systems and public management. The school’s mission is to prepare men and women of faith, character and professional ability for positions of leadership throughout the world. Approximately 3,300 students are enrolled in the Marriott School’s graduate and undergraduate programs.