Dr. Amelia Baldwin of Huntsville, Ala., has been selected as the Neal Pendergraft Professor of Accounting in the College of Business at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith.

Dr. Baldwin comes to UA Fort Smith from the University of Alabama - Huntsville, where she has served as an associate professor of accounting and received numerous awards and recognitions for academic achievements.

Dr. Steve Williams of Fort Smith, dean of the College of Business, said Baldwin has taught accounting courses for more than 20 years and brings instructional expertise in the critical areas of cost and managerial accounting.

“She is very well known in her two main research areas — technologies and intelligent systems in accounting, as well as labor markets for accounting education,” said Williams. “She is a renowned expert in her field, with more than 40 refereed articles in journals.”

Baldwin’s work has been published in British Accounting Review, European Accounting Review, Journal of Information Systems, International Journal of Auditing, Journal of Emerging Technologies in Accounting, Information Systems Management, and Advances in Accounting Education.

Baldwin has taught at universities in the United States, Australia and Thailand. She has her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn University and her doctorate from Virginia Tech. Baldwin will begin her position at UA Fort Smith on Aug. 16.

The UA Fort Smith College of Business is currently conducting a nationwide search to fill another endowed faculty position, the Ross Pendergraft Professorship of International Business.

Williams said the Pendergraft endowed positions enable the business school to recruit and retain highly qualified professors and provide recognition for the quality of education available at UA Fort Smith.

“We are very pleased that the Pendergraft gift has allowed the College of Business to compete successfully in today’s difficult business faculty market by attracting a teacher-scholar of Dr. Baldwin’s caliber to come to UA Fort Smith to mentor our students and serve as a role model for faculty across campus,” said Williams.

Dr. Marta Loyd, vice chancellor for university advancement at UA Fort Smith, said, “When the Pendergraft family made their generous gift to our university, they wanted to make sure it directly impacted students while also helping UA Fort Smith to mature as a regional university. Neal personally understands the importance of strong faculty and the functionality of a solid background in accounting, which he studied as an undergraduate before entering law school.”

The Neal Pendergraft Endowed Professor of Accounting position was made possible by a $5 million gift to UA Fort Smith in 2005 by Donnie D. Pendergraft, Neal Pendergraft’s mother. Mrs. Pendergraft’s contribution to the UA Fort Smith Foundation established professorships in the College of Business in memory of her late husband, Ross, and in honor of their son, Neal, as well as a merit scholarship endowment for health sciences in honor of their daughter, Lauri. General endowments for both the College of Business and the College of Health Sciences were also established as part of Donnie Pendergraft’s gift. Donnie Pendergraft was married for 48 years to the late Ross Pendergraft, whose name is one of two on the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center at UA Fort Smith.