From left, Tod Perry, associate dean of faculty at Kelley Indianapolis; Patrick Hopkins, vice dean at Kelley Bloomington; John Hassell, professor of accounting at Kelley Indianapolis; and Eric Holzman, assistant professor of accounting at Kelley Bloomington.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – John Hassell, an accounting professor at Indiana University Kelley School of Business Indianapolis and two-time alumnus of the Kelley School, was honored by his peers at Bloomington for his impact on teaching, service and research for more than a quarter century.
Hassell, who earned an MBA and a Ph.D. in accounting in 1983 from the Kelley School at Bloomington, received the Academic Excellence Award and was one of 10 honored at the annual Accounting Alumni & Friends Recognition Banquet on Nov. 2. He has taught at Kelley Indianapolis since 1996.
“Suffice to say, I was honored, grateful,” Hassell said. “Since 1950, 185 people have earned doctorates from the business school with a focus on accounting and I am proud to be among them. These graduates have made significant contributions to the accounting profession, particularly through their research. To be chosen for this award by my accounting faculty peers was a tremendous honor.”
John Hassell
Hassell noted that IU and the Kelley School have affected every aspect of his career.
“When my wife Barb (a clinical professor of management) and I were asked to come back to teach at IUPUI, it was a quick yes,” Hassell said. “We are committed to urban education, and we saw it as an opportunity to continue the Kelley School’s commitment to excellent research, teaching, and service.
“As an alum, I am proud of the evolution of the Accounting Department into one of the premier research faculties in the U.S,” added Hassell, who will join his wife in retiring from teaching this spring.
Hassell also has a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Baylor University and Master of Science degree in Accounting from Oklahoma State University. He is a CPA in the state of Texas, although he is no longer licensed to practice.
After finishing his academic studies, he started his professional career as a staff accountant at Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. (now known as KPMG). He left KPMG to take a position as manager of financial analysis at Olin-American in Dallas, Texas.
While he enjoyed his professional career, his desire to enter a career in academics was strong and began his journey after serving as an Instructor at Baylor and Utah.
He came to the Kelley School looking to become a professor but found much more from the program. He met Barbara at IU, which they were married at Beck Chapel next to the Indiana Memorial Union.
At Kelley, he was also exposed to cutting edge research that motivated his passion for voluntary disclosure, which became the theme of his dissertation and later research agenda.
Upon graduation from IU in 1983, he began his career as an assistant professor at Florida State University. He later joined the University of Texas Arlington in 1989 as an associate professor and was promoted to the rank of professor. Across these two universities, he served on a total of 15 dissertation committees, chairing six of them.
The Hassells joined the faculty at Kelley Indianapolis in 1996. He served as interim associate dean for Indianapolis programs from January 2002 to July 2003. He held the OneAmerica Chair from 2003 to 2019.
“John has been dedicated to the mission of IU Kelley, providing unwavering service to help grow the accounting programs in both Indianapolis and Bloomington to the point where they are top four in the nation,” said Joe Schroeder, chairperson of the Graduate Accounting Program, a professor of accounting and PwC Faculty Fellow at Kelley.
Hassell’s research has largely been built around three themes: voluntary disclosure – a continuation of his Ph.D. dissertation — decision making, and accounting education, which he said was “motivated by the long history of Indiana University Accounting Department faculty being committed to good teaching.”
Hassell has published more 60 articles in peer-reviewed journals such as The Accounting Review; Journal of Accounting Research; Accounting, Organizations & Society; and Contemporary Accounting Research.
He has received several teaching and service awards, including the 2005 Kelley School of Business Service Award, and the 2016 Glenn W. Irwin, Jr., M.D. Experience Excellence Award. He was named Indiana CPA Society Educator of the Year in 2008 and received the 2021 Chair’s Award from the Indiana CPA Society.