A couple who graduated from West Virginia University in the 1960s has given a monetary gift to the WVU College of Business and Economics to establish a professorship in accounting.
The two WVU alumni will create the David W. and Nancy F. Hamstead Dean’s Professorship for Accounting with a $100,000 gift to B&E.
“Our accounting program at the College of Business and Economics is both recognized and respected,” said Jose “Zito” Sartarelli, Milan Puskar Dean. “This gift from Mr. and Mrs. Hamstead provides B&E with yet another tool to attract academic talent, further demonstrating our commitment to excellence in our accounting program.”
WVU’s business school is one of only 650 member institutions in nearly 50 countries and territories worldwide to be accredited by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. Fewer than five percent of the world’s 13,000 business programs are accredited by AACSB, and, of these schools, only 178 have AACSB’s additional specialized accreditation for their accounting programs, including WVU. B&E has been accredited for its business programs by AACSB — considered the “gold standard” for business schools around the globe — since 1954. The College earned its premier additional accreditation for accounting programs in 1997.
David W. Hamstead, who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from the College of Business and Economics in 1963, is a retired CPA from Price Waterhouse, LLP. He served as a partner in the Pittsburgh office and spent two years in Hong Kong with the World Firm’s Partner International Program. Hamstead’s leadership included chairing the College of Business and Economics Visiting Committee and serving on the WVU Foundation Board of Directors from 1995-2010, serving as vice chair as well as board chair. In 2007, he served as the interim president of the WVU Foundation prior to the arrival of Wayne King, who still serves in that capacity.
Nancy is a 1962 graduate of the then-WVU College of Arts and Sciences and holds a degree in speech correction. Upon graduation, she was employed by the Allegheny County Intermediate Unit in Pittsburgh serving as a speech pathologist for the Gateway School District in Monroeville for 10 years. She completed a six-year term as a member of the Blaney House Visiting Committee in 2010.
The two are members of the Woodburn Circle Society, the Irvin Stewart Society and life members of the WVU Alumni Association.
“We are very grateful for this gift because it helps us raise the bar even higher on our accounting program,” Sartarelli said. “Our accounting students are more than ready for positions in their field anywhere in the global marketplace, and helping to provide another academic position in accounting ensures the continued integrity of the program.”
The contribution was made in conjunction with A State of Minds: The Campaign for West Virginia’s University. The $750 million comprehensive campaign being conducted by the WVU Foundation on behalf of the University runs through December 2015.
For further information on the comprehensive campaign, please visit www.astateofminds.com or www.be.wvu.edu .
