A Note of Gratitude from Adrian Epps
Dear Friends and Loved Ones,
A little over a year ago my beloved bride and best friend departed this side of life. Our family continues to celebrate the blessing of being loved and influenced by her heart, wisdom and positive disposition toward life. With your prayers, supportive sentiments and kind jesters, the family is progressing well. We often reflect on Kathryn and know that her spirit is rejoicing with our efforts to celebrate her. I am writing on a day that would have been Kathryn’s 49th birthday update you on our progress and aspirations in honoring her legacy. As you might recall, with your support we celebrated her life through multiple methods. These included creating scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students in accounting at Kennesaw State University, supporting research to cure multiple myeloma, and identifying a means to honor her commitment to excellence in accounting by naming the Coles College of Business School of Accountancy (SOA) Hallway in her name.
I am excited to say that with your help we raised over $106,000 targeted at supporting part of her passion and dream. Her last major professional act focused on securing additional fiscal resources to provide scholarships for highly qualified deserving students. She and I had numerous conversations about students who aspire to become college graduates or pursue advanced degrees in accounting but were limited by financial resources. In numerous cases as little as a few hundred dollars would fill the gap for a student to be fully cleared to be enrolled. With a portion of the funds raised, the SOA identified 14 accounting student scholars to become the first beneficiaries of your kindness. Of particular note and thanks to the American Institute of CPAs and the Georgia Society of CPAs for their major contributions and for promoting our efforts through their networks.
The naming of the SOA Hallway in Kathryn’s honor will occur sometime this fall or in the early spring. Once we have more information about specifics about the ceremony and date, we will be sure to notify you. Hopefully many of you will be in attendance.
Another interest of Kathryn included faculty development and wellness. In the spring of this year with the help of the KSU Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning and the KSU Office of Diversity we created the Kathryn Epps Faculty Wellness Annual Retreat. The aims of the retreat are to: (1) introduce practices shown to increase well-being, focus, and productivity; (2) provide a supportive “sister circle” where participants can share their challenges and successes in the academy; and (3) facilitate networking and connection opportunities among participants. The available slots filled within a day of the announcement of the opportunity. There were more than 20 female faculty participating in the retreat and the feedback was terrific. A special thank you to Dr. Roxanne Donovan and Dr. Adriane Randolph for the leadership in making this a reality.
Lastly, many of you also supported our efforts to raise awareness and funds for multiple myeloma research. Two years ago, Kathryn ran the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation 5K Walk/Run in New York City. Last year, six family members and friends participated in the event and with your help we raised over $2800. This year we are doing it again and already have 12 people who will participate. We are hoping that you will explore supporting and/or joining us for the event on October 19th in New York City. All funds raised through this event are sent to the Winship Cancer Institute at Emory University where several of the top researchers, including Kathryn’s primary doctors, focus on finding a cure for the disease.
I hope that you will be willing to support our efforts. Here are the links for your consideration:
1. The KSU Kathryn Epps Memorial Fund: https://community.kennesaw.edu/giving-pages/epps
2. The MMRF 5K, Kathryn’s Memorial Team: https://walkrun.themmrf.org/newyorkcity18/KathrynsMemorialTeam\
3. Emory University Winship Cancer Institute: https://winshipcancer.emory.edu/files/support-winship-files/Online-Giving-Form-Fillable.pdf
Please feel free to share this message with others as well. We sincerely appreciate your continued support and efforts to help us keep Kathryn’s legacy and vision a reality. On her behalf, we are truly appreciative and humbled by everything that you are doing to support accounting students, university faculty, and the eventual cure for multiple myeloma.
With Sincere Hearts,
Adrian, Kathryn(IV), Malik, and Summer
Adrian L. Epps, Ed.D.
Kennesaw State University
College of Science & Mathematics
Associate Dean
470-578-2434 Office
404-384-4077 Cell aepps6@kennesaw.edu
A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT
Veena L. Brown, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Dear Members of the Diversity Section,
It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I address you as the newly elected President of the Diversity Section of the American Accounting Association. I am deeply honored (and pleasantly surprised) to have been entrusted with this esteemed position.
First and foremost, I would like to extend a warm welcome to all our members, both longstanding and newly joined as we begin this new year. The Diversity Section is a community that thrives on the diverse perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds of its members. Our collective mission is to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in all aspects of accounting education, research, and practice. As the incoming President, I am committed to amplifying underrepresented voices, driving meaningful change, and creating opportunities for our members to succeed. I firmly believe that diversity is not just a buzzword; it is the key to unlocking our full potential as a profession.