Haslam College of Business - UT Haslam Faculty Member Named to Elite Business Professors List

Poets & Quants for Undergrads recently recognized Amelia Hart of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business as one of its 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors of 2024. Hart is an associate professor of practice in the college’s Department of Accounting and Information Management (AIM), but she goes beyond teaching students the practical applications of the discipline. Hart also contributes to her students’ personal and professional development, to Haslam and UT’s advancement and to her community’s well-being.

Awards and Honors

Poets & Quants noted Hart’s numerous professional awards in its announcement, including AIM’s 2023-2024 Rhea and Ivy Excellence in Teaching Award, Haslam’s 2023 Richard C. Reizenstein Outstanding Commitment to Students Award and a nomination for the Chancellor’s Excellence in Teaching Award. Hart’s other recent awards and honors include the Haslam’s inaugural 2024 Inclusive Leadership Award, the 2022 Teaching & Learning Innovation Faculty Leader Award, the 2021 Course Redesign Institute Award and the 2021 Decosimo Faculty Leadership Award.

Service to the College and Beyond

Hart is committed to her personal mantra “Accounting is fun!” and she continues to attract new talent to the profession — she served for five consecutive years as the co-coordinator of Haslam’s AIM Academy, a summer program that hosts rising high school juniors from underrepresented groups and introduces them to the field of accounting and information management. Hart is also a faculty senator and a member of the UT’s Teaching and Learning Innovation Task Force Advisory team, where she creates and connects efforts across disciplines and educational contexts for faculty development.

In addition to her work with the university, Hart also volunteers for several service organizations, serving on the boards of Goodwill Industries of Knoxville, Caring Place, Boys Club of America, Pathway Credit Union, the National Association of Black Accounts, Southern Region, Tennessee Society of CPAs, the United Way of Knoxville’s investment committee, , Tennessee Professional Ethics Committee and as the Southeast Region Chapter Advocate for Beta Alpha Psi. Further, she has served as co-chair of the American Accounting Association’s Diversity and Teaching, Learning and Curriculum section midyear. She is currently president-elect of the American Accounting Association diversity section and co-authors the bi-monthly Tennessee CPA Journal Accounting and Auditing Section articles. Finally, Hart presents to area high school students and volunteers to teach Junior Achievement, among many other community-oriented initiatives.

Honoring a Champion for Students

Terry Neal, head of AIM and the Richard L. Townsend Accounting Chair, lauded Hart’s work on behalf of service organizations, the university and the community, while noting Hart’s commitment to her students’ success.

“Dr. Hart brings to her involvement with her students’ growth the same dedication she shows in her other initiatives,” he said. “She establishes a rapport with students, guiding them with mentorship, communication coaching, job interview preparation, encouragement and advocacy during their academic careers and beyond. She has been a positive force in her students’ lives, and Poets & Quants naming her as one of its 50 Best Undergraduate Business Professors of 2024 is a fitting acknowledgment of Dr. Hart’s passion for her students to succeed.”

Hart explains that her inclusion in the top undergraduate business professors list is both gratifying and humbling. “I believe the most profound impact I can have on this world is through using my gifts and investing my time in others for purposes that change lives,” she said. “Helping students achieve success academically, professionally and personally are prime motivators for me. Observing them step into the world equipped to meet its challenges is my greatest return.”

Read the full Poets & Quants article on Hart to learn more.

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CONTACT:

Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu