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Popular accounting professor to retire after 15 years of teaching

Accounting professor Charles Bokemeier is described as "passionate" by his colleagues and influenced many of his students

April 9, 2015
<p>Eli Broad College of Business professor Charlie Bokemeier talks with one of his assistants Samantha Sokan before beginning class April 6, 2015, in the Business College Complex. Kelsey Feldpausch/The State News</p>

Eli Broad College of Business professor Charlie Bokemeier talks with one of his assistants Samantha Sokan before beginning class April 6, 2015, in the Business College Complex. Kelsey Feldpausch/The State News

Photo by Kelsey Feldpausch | The State News

For some, the name might bring back haunting memories of working with balance sheets, income statements and other accounting material.

Others may have fonder memories of their time spent with the renowned professor.

Hospitality business junior Samantha Schwanz said although she did not particularly enjoy the material, she felt that Bokemeier was knowledgeable at what he taught, and that he provided helpful, real-life examples in class.

During his time at MSU, Bokemeier has established himself as a cornerstone teacher who has had an effect on many different people.

The close of the 2015 spring semester will mark the end of an era, because Bokemeier will be retiring from MSU.

Although he won’t be completely finished until the end of the summer, when he completes his final go-round with the weekend master of business administration class he teaches, this semester will be the last financial accounting class he will instruct.

And it is a class that has become somewhat legendary among business students for its difficult reputation.

A desire to help

Bokemeier earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Western Illinois University, both in accounting.

He then went on to obtain his doctorate of business administration from the University of Kentucky, also in accounting.

Before working in an academic role, Bokemeier was a certified public accountant. During that time, he discovered that for many of his clients there was a basic misunderstanding of financial information.

“As I worked more with those clients, I thought that someday I might like to come back and help get to the root of the problem,” Bokemeier said. “If I could help people understand the meaning of financial statements before they got out in practice, it might help more people.”

After working at a number of universities, Bokemeier came to MSU in the fall of 2000 under the title “professor of practice.”

Daniel Savage, a former student of Bokemeier’s who is now working on his master’s in accounting, said he learned more in Bokemeier’s class than he had in any other class he had taken at the time.

“I thought he was a great teacher. He was the reason I wanted to do accounting,” Savage said.

Passion as a driving force

Many of Bokemeier’s colleagues characterize him with one word: passionate.

“He has a great passion for students,” director of Student Academic Services in the Eli Broad College of Business Lynne Zelenski said. “He wants you to do well. He has high expectations — he wants you to succeed.”

With that drive, Bokemeier has become a highly decorated educator over the years.

Among others, he has won the University Distinguished Academic Staff Award in 2013, the Honors College Award for Distinguished Contributions to Honors Students in 2012 and the Teacher of the Year award from the Department of Accounting and Information Systems.

Additionally, he has won numerous research grant awards and written a number of research publications.

Bokemeier said he enjoys helping young people learn things that are valuable for their future and career.

He added that he is always excited about coming to work, and that he tries to bring that energy to the classroom.

Sue Convery, a close colleague of Bokemeier and a fellow accounting professor for undergraduates, said she admired how well Bokemeier balances teaching for undergraduates with teaching students pursuing an MBA.

"(The weekend MBA program) is a completely different set of students, and yet he’s equally able to teach fundamental accounting issues at their level and win awards for that,” Convery said. “That’s hard to do.”

Mentor in and out of the classroom

Bokemeier has also had great success in the relationships he has built with his teaching assistants.

From always making himself available both in and out of the classroom, to putting on tailgates before football games, he has served far beyond the role of professor to many of these assistants.

Brian Perry, now the general accounting manager for DTE Energy, served as a TA in 2002 and 2003. He said Bokemeier has always treated him and the other TAs like family, and that Bokemeier even came to his wedding.

Perry said he admired Bokemeier.

“It was the demand for excellence, but also the way that he created a family atmosphere and fostered these friendships that have lasted through all these years,” Perry said.

Scott Hilliard, a former graduate and teaching assistant for Bokemeier in the early 2000s who is now working at Deloitte, said that Bokemeier made a profound difference in his life and continued to do that even after he graduated from MSU.

“Dr. Bokemeier is a mentor. He’s someone that you can look to for any questions or concerns and a friendly, honest guy you can go to for anything,” Hilliard said.

Bokemeier said that seeing the way in which his TAs have grown, and the recognition they have received, have been among the most rewarding experiences during his time at MSU.

Teaching practices and philosophy

The professor said much of his teaching philosophy stems from one thought-provoking quotation: “Education is a journey, not a destination.”

Although he is unsure who the author of the passage is, he said he persistently drives that message home to his students.

“I’ve had some young audiences when they’re just graduating from college and I say to them, ‘If you think you’re done studying now, if you’re thinking you’re done learning now, how unfortunate that would be to have a career where you’re done learning now. Learning is always something to look forward to,’” he said.

Bokemeier said that’s what he appreciates about the campus community — that there’s a constant effort to see what is new and changing, and how to integrate that change and make things better.

The next step

Bokemeier said he plans to move to Colorado with his wife, where they can be closer to their grandchildren.

As a true Spartan fan, he said he is going to miss going to the sporting events, and not just the major ones. He said he has students involved in many different sports within the university, so he is going to miss watching all of the different games.

He added that he is going to also miss the beauty of the campus.

“I’m going to miss going to work. But, I mean I’ve always enjoyed the campus, the atmosphere that’s here and this community,” he said.

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