UA Professor Named Durr-Fillauer Chair in Business Ethics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Todd DeZoort, professor of accounting in the Culverhouse College of Commerce, has been named The University of Alabama’s Durr-Fillauer Chair in Business Ethics.

“This is a very distinguished appointment, and we are fortunate to have a faculty member of Dr. DeZoort’s stature named as the Durr-Fillauer Chair of Ethics,” said Dr. Brian Gray, interim dean of the Culverhouse College of Commerce.

“We believe Dr. DeZoort will help us continue to excel with our ethics program, especially as corporate governance and transparency is a major topic in boardrooms across the country,” Gray said.

As the Durr-Fillauer Chair of Ethics, DeZoort will lead faculty and students in developing research agendas in ethics and provide expertise to the University’s public constituencies on issues related to ethics. He will also teach ethics-related courses at the graduate and undergraduate levels.

“I’m very honored to receive this appointment,” said DeZoort. “Integrity and ethics are central to the mission of this College. It’s important for all students, faculty and staff to prioritize ethical decision-making and stay alert to the risks and threats we all face. I’m an educator, but I’m also a lifelong learner.”

DeZoort was recently presented the 2015 Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, or ACFE, Educator of the Year Award for his educational contributions to the fight against fraud.

He joined The University of Alabama accounting faculty in 2001 and earned his doctorate from UA. His teaching interests involve auditing, governance, ethics, and fraud and risk management at the undergraduate, masters and doctoral levels.

DeZoort has served as a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Reliability Task Force, an Advisory Council Member at the Academy for Ethics in Financial Reporting, a Research Fellow at the Enterprise Risk Management Initiative, and as an Academic Fellow at the National Corporate Governance Center, where he co-authored the Center’s “21st century Governance and Financial Reporting Principles for U.S. Public Companies.”

He also is a member of the American Accounting Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, The Institute of Internal Auditors, the National Association of Corporate Directors, and the Society for Judgment and Decision-Making