The uniform CPA exam is known in the world of business for being one of the most difficult
professional certification exams. Comprised of four separate sections, altogether
the exam takes a cumulative 14 hours with three of the sections having less than a
50 percent passing rate. Estimates indicate only about 20 percent of candidates will
pass all four sections on the first try.
Patrick Archer, BA '14, however, not only beat those odds, he also managed to receive the ninth highest score in Arizona with an average 89.5 on all four parts. The Arizona Society of CPAs hosted a reception honoring Archer and the other top ten scorers in late April.
"I owe a lot to Dr. Robert Walsh for approaching me and guiding me into the accounting profession," said Archer. "He has a wealth of knowledge. I would joke with other students that counselor meetings with Dr. Walsh take five minutes in his office, but leave you with insights to ponder for a week afterwards."
During a whirlwind road trip in the summer of 2015 Patrick and his wife traveled from Ohio to Arizona. Archer spent any available downtime studying for the exam. Once settled in Phoenix, Archer sat for all four sections over the remaining summer months.
"The business school at University of Dallas gave me the best foundation a business student could ask for when it comes to preparing for the CPA exam," said Archer. "A critical skill in business is having a fundamental understanding of your craft rather than focusing on technical skills. I have seen technically-trained professionals struggle in certain circumstances because they have not been taught to step back from an issue to understand it broadly before assessing the particulars."
Chair and Assistant Professor of English Debra Romanick Baldwin, Ph.D., and Professor of Physics and recent Interim Dean of Constantin College Sally Hicks, Ph.D., have secured a $299,078 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support writing instruction at UD for the fall 2020 semester.
+ Read MoreHis first step was to enroll in physician’s assistant school at Baylor’s College of Medicine, a career trajectory to which he had aspired since his early childhood. Nowadays, Jonathan Cunningham, BA ’17, is dedicated to the vocational pursuit of comfort and healing at MD Anderson in Houston, among the largest cancer treatment centers in the U.S., where he was once a chemotherapy patient himself.
+ Read MoreDuring his Rome semester in 1991, Joseph Meaney, BA '93, with his friends (now Father) Kevin Cook, BA '94, and (now Texas State Representative and UD Trustee) Tan Parker, BA '93, attended a private Mass with Pope St. John Paul II. Several weeks earlier, they had hand-delivered a letter to the Swiss Guards outside St. Peter's requesting the Mass and including their contact information; at last, they'd received the phone call instructing them to be at the Bronze Gates at 5 a.m.
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