Moore receives international award for teaching excellence
Kim Chaudoin | 615.966.6494 |
Chances are if you've had a business class or have majored in accounting at Lipscomb University you know his name.He is one of the giants of accounting in Lipscomb's College of Business.
Colleagues respect him. Students fear and love him. And he is passionate about shaping the minds and ethics of young accountants.
He is Perry Moore.
For more than 30 years, Moore has been teaching and training young accountants at Lipscomb’s College of Business. This weekend, Moore was recognized for the impact he has made on the lives of thousands of students as he received the 2015 International Teaching Excellence award from the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs. Moore, who received the ACBSP 2015 Teaching Excellence Award for Region 3 this spring, was selected for the international honor from among ten other regional winners. The international organization includes more than 2,000 member schools.
“Dr. Perry Moore exemplifies the model faculty member both in and outside the classroom,” said Ray Eldridge, interim dean of the College of Business. “Perry is an excellent faculty member, administrative leader, student counselor and campus servant. This award is a testament to the impact he is making in business education and on the lives of our students and it recognizes his leadership and the example he is for others around the world.”
He was recognized during a special luncheon on June 14 at the ACBSP annual conference in Philadelphia. Anthony Negbenebor, international president of ACBSP and dean of Gardner-Webb University’s Godbold School of Business, presented Moore with the award.
“I am humbled by this honor,” said Moore, professor of accounting and a director of Lipscomb’s graduate business programs. “It is especially meaningful to be honored by an organization that puts a high value on excellence in teaching and in instilling in students a strong foundation of business ethics. I learned at the feet of strong professors, and this award is equally reflective of Lipscomb and the training I received from Axel Swang, Charles Frasier and Patty Dugger.”
Moore has played a key role in the overall growth and success of the College of Business. He has had leadership roles in the Master of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy programs since their inception. Since that time, graduate enrollment in graduate business programs has more than doubled. As a senior member of the business faculty, Moore was also instrumental in securing ACBSP accounting specialization accreditation, which resulted in Lipscomb becoming one of the first four institutions in the world to receive this distinction. He also founded the university’s chapter of the international business honor society Delta Mu Delta, which recently marked its 20th anniversary.
“For those of us who know Perry and his excellence in the classroom, it is not a surprise that he would rise to the very top to receive this global award,” said Susan Galbreath, vice provost for academic and financial affairs and special assistant to the president who is a former interim dean of the College of Business and was on the business faculty with Moore for a number of years. “What a great, wonderful and deserving award.”
What has driven Moore to devote his life to teaching is not launching new programs, increased enrollments and accolades. It’s a passion for inspiring students to love accounting and to have a strong ethical foundation that will make them successful in the boardroom and in life.
In his formative years, Moore witnessed firsthand the importance of ethics in business as he observed his father’s business practices.
“I find it impossible to teach without bringing Christian values and virtues into the classroom,” said Moore, a Nashville native. “My father was a teacher, and to make ends meet he also sold appliances. He did this for 30 years and had many repeat customers. Many of them told me that they continued to buy from my dad because he was honest and sold them what they needed. That influenced me.”
Instilling in his students the importance of living a life of integrity is as natural a part of Moore’s being as breathing.
“Our values influence our actions,” he said. “I teach my students ‘how’ to think, which includes more than how to find the right answer. I want them to find the right answer within an appropriate ethical context. Events in the business world provide numerous examples of how the actions of a small group, for example in the WorldCom situation years ago, have impacted many, such as the cost of implementing Sarbanes-Oxley.”
Moore said he prepares students “for the challenges of today’s business environment through the combination of strong ethical training with proven academic instruction.”
In addition to learning lessons about the importance of ethics in business from his father, Moore learned his trade at the feet of legendary Lipscomb accounting professors Axel Swang and Charles Frasier. After earning his bachelor’s degree at Lipscomb in 1981, Moore went on to earn a Master of Arts degree in accounting from the University of Alabama and a doctorate from the University of Georgia.
Moore returned to his alma mater as computer systems manager in the fall of 1982 where he also taught courses in computer science. He joined the business faculty in fall 1985 and has been a key part of the program since. He only left Lipscomb for a short time while completing coursework for his doctoral degree, during which time he served as a graduate teaching assistant in accounting at the J.M. Tull School of Accounting in the Terry College of Business at the University of Georgia.
Although known for being a “tough” professor, Moore’s students appreciate not only his academic rigor and emphasis on ethics, but also the relationship he builds with them that lasts well after students graduate.
“Each semester when student evaluations are completed, I am constantly amazed and impressed not only at the high marks Dr. Moore receives but also at the genuinely warm and thankful comments his many students take the time to record as they comment on his personal interest in each of them and on his consistently helpful manner,” said Eldridge. “The results from more than 500 student evaluations have placed in ‘best’ in the College of Business for such skills as being effective, being intellectually challenging, providing clear course requirements, stimulating critical thinking and being organized. It is a rare combination when students feel that a faculty member is challenging and demanding yet feel encouraged and treated fairly.”
Not only has Moore made an impact at Lipscomb, he is also very involved in professional and community organizations. He has chaired the regional conference committee for the Institute of Internal Auditors, is nearing the end of a two-year term as president of Delta Mu Delta based in Chicago, and founded and directs the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountant’s Accounting Academy. He is also involved with the Tennessee Society of Accounting Educators, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the American Accounting Association.
In addition, Moore is secretary/treasurer for Christian Campus Ministry, a nonprofit organization that oversees a student ministry program at Vanderbilt University. He is also a member of Brentwood Hills Church of Christ, where he serves as a deacon and is part of their missions team.