Alumni Newsletter Fall 2019

Celebrating the Careers of Dr. Debra Salbador and Dr. Gene Seago The Spring 2019 semester saw the conclusion of a combined 75 years of teaching and Pamplin service with the retirements of Gene Seago and Debra Salbador. Dr. Salbador arrived at Virginia Tech in the fall of 1994 after completing her Ph.D. in Accounting from the Darla Moore School of Business at the University of South Carolina. She also received a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting from the University of New Orleans. While working as an associate professor in ACIS, Dr. Salbador completed a B.A. in French fromVirginia Tech. Dr. Salbador was a renowned expert in the discipline of tax policy and has published and presented innumerable articles and presentations on this topic. Dr. Salbador served as the KPMG professor in residence since the Spring semester of 2010 and has consulted with the Internal Revenue Service as well as serving as an Editorial Board Member for the Journal of Accounting Education. In the classroom, Dr. Salbador taught 10+ different courses in the subject of taxation and accounting principles. Known for her dedication to student success and interest in the field of accounting, she served as faculty advisor for both Beta Alpha Psi and the National Association of Black Accountants. Dr. Salbador also served on countless Pamplin and University service committees and was awarded numerous faculty excellence and teaching awards. Dr. Seago joined the accounting faculty at Virginia Tech in 1970 after completing a law degree and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. He also received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and M.B.A. from Florida State University. Dr. Seago remains an expert in the field of tax accounting and has published in excess of 175 books and articles on this topic. Additionally, Dr. Seago has served a consulting role to the U.S. Departments of Commerce and Justice as well as to the Internal Revenue Service. In the classroom, Dr. Seago was known for his excellence in teaching and quick wit. He taught innumerable courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level as well as serving as the accounting program’s academic advisor for more than 10 years. Dr. Seago is a member of the American Bar Association, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, American Accounting Association, American Taxation Association, and the Virginia Bar Association. To cap his long and distinguished career at Virginia Tech, Dr. Seago was recently conferred the title of Curling Professor Emeritus of Accounting and Information Systems by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. The emeritus title may be granted to retired professors who are specifically nominated to the Board of Visitors by Virginia Tech President Tim Sands to recognize exemplary service to the university community. Jacob Shortt Wins Teaching Excellence Award

Debra Salbador

Gene Seago

Jacob Shortt has been awarded Pamplin’s 2019 Certificate of Teaching Excellence. Jacob has been with Virginia Tech since the Fall of 2016 and has taught a variety of courses including Intermediate Ac- counting Part I and Part II, Accounting Systems and Controls, and most recently a newly created class, Accounting Ana- lytics. Jacob has worked to increase the focus on the implications of big data and data analytics on the accounting profes- sion through the Accounting Analytics course. He worked with colleagues to develop this course during the Sum- mer of 2018 and has taught the course each semester since. His approach to this course expands each semester as the applicable technology andmethodologies evolve in the profession.

Jacob Shortt facilitates presentations in his Accounting Analytics class.

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