Carolyn Conn, a clinical associate professor in the Department of Accounting at Texas State University, has been named Piper Professor for 2025 by the Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation.
Conn was named Piper Professor on May 1 in honor of her dedication and service to teaching at the collegiate level. She is the first accounting faculty member from TXST to be named a Piper Professor. In addition, she is the first clinical faculty member, first certified fraud examiner and second CPA so honored.
Piper Foundation honorees are chosen by committee members who look for well-rounded, outgoing teachers, devoted to their profession who have made a special impact on their students and the community.
“My goal for each of my students is to achieve more than they ever thought possible. By being named a Piper Professor, that has happened for me,” Conn said. “This award is shared with so many mentors, faculty colleagues, friends—and especially my students—who inspire me every day. I am grateful for each one. Many thanks to the Piper Foundation for this incredible honor.
Conn’s career is marked by a strong record of student advising and guidance. She established the MAcy Mentor Program, an initiative to encourage students to pursue the MAcy graduate degree. In spring 2022, Conn began incorporating the Ethics in Action Video Competition sponsored by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy Center for Public Trust into her graduate ethics courses. Her students earned first or second in one or both of two categories in 2022, 2023 and 2024. She is in her ninth year as faculty advisor for the Accounting Club and the Student Case Competition sponsored by the Institute of Management Accountants. In 2020, the Student Case Competition team won the national title under her guidance.
"Dr. Conn's support in her AIS class last semester was truly invaluable,” said Kentrell Luckey a senior accounting major. “She not only expanded my knowledge but also believed in my potential. Her mentorship has played a pivotal role in my academic journey.”
“Dr. Conn is an exceptional professor who truly cares about her students’ success,” said Korrie Jolivet, a graduating senior at TXST. “Her AIS class and encouragement to attend accounting org meetings opened my eyes to various career paths. Her insight into technology in accounting and genuine enthusiasm inspired me to pursue a master’s in accounting information technology.”
Conn has focused her service activities in areas that can provide scholarship and research opportunities for her students. She has served as a board member for the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners in Austin from 2018 to the present; board member of Institute of Management Accountants, Texas Council, from 2023 to the present; editorial review board for the Case Research Journal from 2016 to the present; president of AAA-Southwest from 2012-2013, as well as president-elect and program chair from 2011-2012; moderator and panelist for the AAA-Southwest Conference; reviewer of cases and instructional materials for the Case Research Journal; and reviewer for the North American Case Research Association conference. She has been an invited guest speaker to multiple organizations, including Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Austin; Texas Society of CPAs; Institute of Management Accountants, San Antonio; Government Finance Officers, Austin; Institute of Internal Auditors, Vancouver, Canada; and academic classes at TXST and Texas A&M University.
Conn adds the Piper Professor designation to a list of accolades as an educator that she has received from professional and academic organizations at the global, regional and state levels. These have been from the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants (TXCPA), the San Antonio chapter of the TXCPA and the Southwest region of the American Accounting Association. Additionally, she has been recognized with the TXST McCoy College Distinction Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Faculty Engagement Award from the advisory board to the TXST Department of Accounting.
She has also received the TXST McCoy College of Business Achievement Award for Service; North American Case Research Association’s Best Case Award for ethics in 2023 and for accounting in 2016; Case Research Journal’s Best Reviewer Award; AAA-Southwest’s Best Manuscript Award; AAA-Southeast’s Outstanding Paper Award; and St. Edward’s University’s School of Business Advisor of the Year.
She is a member of the Beta Alpha Psi international honor society for accounting, finance and information systems and Beta Gamma Sigma honor society for business.
Conn is the 26th overall Texas State professor to be named a Piper Professor. Other Texas State Piper Professors have been Emmie Craddock, 1962, history; Robert Galvan, 1968, modern languages; Thomas Brasher, 1970, English; Dan Farlow, 1975, political science; Clarence Schultz, 1976, sociology; Henrietta Avent, 1979, health and physical education; Robert Walts, 1982, English; Beverly Chiodo, 1988, computer information systems and administrative sciences; Barbara Hatcher, 1993, curriculum and instruction; Michael John Hennessy, 2001, English; Nancy Fehl Chavkin, 2002, social work; Paul Nathan Cohen, 2003, English; James David Bell, 2004, business; Byron Dale Augustin, 2005, geography; Christopher Frost, 2006, psychology; James Housefield, 2007, art history; Brock Brown, 2008, geography; Max Warshauer, 2010, mathematics; Steven Furney, 2012, health and human performance; Kenneth Margerison, 2013, history; Vedaraman Sriraman, 2015, engineering technology; Debra Feakes, 2016, chemistry; Steven Beebe, 2018, communication studies; Ann Burnette, communication studies, in 2020 and David Lemke, biology, in 2022.