News

(September 3, 2008) -

Richard Flaherty has been named dean of the Eberhardt School of Business. Flaherty, a retired dean and professor of accounting from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, has been appointed to the post for two years.

“Dr. Flaherty brings a lot of experience to the business school and Pacific and will be a great addition to our university,” said Provost Phil Gilbertson. “His expertise in financial accounting theory and his experience in both academia and private enterprise will help further position Eberhardt as one of the most respected business schools in the West.”

Flaherty was dean of the College of Business and Professor of Accounting at UNLV for eight years until he retired in June 2007. Before that, he was a faculty member at Arizona State University for 21 years and served as director of the School of Accountancy for five years. He also taught at Oklahoma State University (1970-1973) and the University of Illinois (1975-1978).

He has served in many roles for AACSB International— the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business – which is the international accreditation board for business schools. He has been chair of the Accounting Accreditation Committee, chair of the Peer Review Improvement Task Force, chair of the Learning Outcomes Assessment Task Force, chair of the Finance and Investments Committee, and vice-chair of the Accreditation Quality Committee. He has also served as a member of the Accreditation Coordinating Committee and of the AACSB International Deans Conference Advisory Committee. He recently completed a three-year term on the Board of Directors of AACSB International and served as president of the Western Association of Collegiate Schools of Business.

A Kansas native, he received his bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Kansas. He has consulted with numerous businesses and has taught in numerous professional development programs. He has published articles on financial accounting theory and practice in several journals. In addition, he co-authored an intermediate accounting textbook. Flaherty is a member of numerous organizations, including the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Beta Alpha Psi, and Beta Gamma Sigma.

While at Arizona State, he was on the Board of Directors of the Arizona Financial Executives Institute, the Board of Trustees of the Arizona CPA Society’s Foundation for Education and Research, and the Board of Directors of the Arizona Society of CPAs. In April 2001, he was inducted into the Arizona State University College of Business Faculty Hall of Fame. He also was executive director of the Accounting Education Change Commission from 1993 to 1996.

He recently completed a term as President of the Nevada chapter of Financial Executives International, has been a member of the Las Vegas Executives Association, and is on the Boards of Directors of Nichols Consulting Engineers, Chtd., and IC3D, a startup company. He was a board member of the Las Vegas Music Festival, the Lied Institute for Real Estate Studies, the Henderson Business Resource Center, and the Community Advisory Board of KNPR, Nevada Public Radio. He has been a frequent speaker for civic and professional organizations in Las Vegas.

Flaherty is married and has two daughters. He will start in his new position later this month.