Accounting Expert Becomes USM's First L.L. Bean/Lee Surace
Chair
Jeffrey Gramlich, a leader in the fields of accounting and
financial statement analysis, has been appointed as the first
L.L. Bean/Lee Surace Chair at the USM School of Business.
The highly prestigious position will bring financial scholarship
of national significance to the USM School of Business, where
Gramlich will teach and continue his research on issues of
corporate governance and earnings management.
Gramlich comes to USM from the University of Michigan Business
School, where he has been visiting professor since 2001. He
has held the post of professor of accountancy at the University
of Hawaii-Manoa since 1989. Among his most significant contributions
to the field of accounting is his recent publication, "Balance
Sheet Management: The Case of Short-Term Obligations Reclassified
as Long-Term Debt," in the Journal of Accounting Research
(2001).
"This is a tremendous asset for the School of Business and
for the greater business community of Maine," said Jack Trifts,
dean of USM's School of Business. "Someone like Jeff doesn't
come along every day. He's a gifted teacher and a scholar
at the top of his field, and we anticipate that he will be
a very high profile member of our faculty helping to shape
the accounting field in Maine, and nationally."
Gramlich's appointment was made possible by a $1 million
gift from L.L. Bean, Inc., its board chair, Leon Gorman, his
wife, Lisa, Jim and Maureen Gorman, and Tom Gorman, who established
the chair in memory of longtime L.L. Bean CFO Leandro "Lee"
Surace, who passed away in March 2001. Surace, a graduate
of the USM School of Business, chaired the school's advisory
council and was a frequent guest lecturer.
"Jeff is a great choice for this position," said L.L. Bean
President and Chief Executive Officer Chris McCormick. "His
appointment to the Bean/Surace Chair is fitting since he embodies
many of the same qualities of commitment and quiet modesty
that served Lee Surace so well during his many years at L.L.
Bean. Jeff reflects well on the school of business, and his
appointment speaks to the vitality of the Maine business community
and the university's ability to attract a man of his caliber."
In his new post, which begins September 1, 2003, Gramlich
will teach a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses.
His teaching expertise includes a case-based approach to financial
statement analysis, including detailed analyses of past financial
performance and a forecast of financial statements which,
in turn, leads to an estimation of the value of a firm's stock.
For the past 16 years, his research has focused on earnings
management, including studies of how certain incentives cause
managers to alter their reflection of firm performance in
financial statements.
Gramlich noted that he is excited about the opportunities
in the USM School of Business and is "... proud to represent
both L.L. Bean and Lee Surace." In addition, Gramlich and
his wife, Margrethe, "heavily weighted the Portland lifestyle
and its good people as big attractions for us."
USM has the largest school of business in the state and is
one of only two to be accredited by the AACSB, one of the
country's most prestigious accrediting agencies. Its master's
of science in accounting program was launched in fall 2000.
For more information, contact Jack
Trifts, dean of the USM School of Business (207-780-4020).
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