ECU administrator joins national board

An East Carolina University administrator is one of five people elected this year to the board of a national accounting organization.

In October, Vice Chancellor for Administration and Finance Dr. Rick Niswander began serving a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a member association representing the accounting profession with more than 412,000 members.

Dr. Rick Niswander

“It is a distinct honor to be able to continue to serve my CPA profession and at the same time represent ECU in a national organization,” Niswander said.

Niswander has worked as a CPA for almost 35 years. He came to ECU in 1993 as an accounting faculty member. He served as dean of the College of Business from 2004 until 2011, when he became vice chancellor.

The AICPA board consists of 16 members, 15 of whom rotate every three years in sets of five. The board acts as the executive committee of the AICPA and oversees the organization’s management as well its volunteer committees. Board members work in both the public and private sectors. While the board normally contains one educator, Niswander is the first from ECU and the first in recent memory from a North Carolina institution.

“This is also a distinction for ECU,” Niswander says. “This is another opportunity for me to spread the word about this great university, in addition to serving those in the accounting profession. ECU has many outstanding employees who represent ECU within their respective professions in a similar manner.”

Niswander has a long history of dedication to his profession. He is also a member of the AICPA Council, a body consisting of 250 accountants from all 50 states. He recently finished a term as chair of the Board of Examiners, the body responsible for the oversight of the CPA exam.