Dr. Treba Marsh, Stephen F. Austin State University professor emeritus of accounting, will offer the commencement address during the university’s two fall graduation ceremonies Saturday, Dec. 15.
Marsh served SFA from 1991 through 2018 in various roles, including as the interim director and director of the Schlief School of Accountancy and as the Temple Inland Endowed Professor. Her close relationship with SFA accounting alumni and accounting firm partners has resulted in the contribution of thousands of scholarship dollars for accounting students, as well as a growing number of internship placements and job offers.
Dr. Kelly Noe, associate professor and director of SFA’s Schlief School of Accountancy, said Marsh has been a major influence within the Rusche College of Business and the Schlief School of Accountancy.
“Dr. Marsh not only changed my life, but also changed the lives of many students. She was like my work mom,” Noe said. “She was and still is an amazing mentor, and her work in the Schlief School of Accountancy has helped make our program what it is today.”
Marsh is a two-time SFA alumna, receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting and a Master of Business Administration in management. She received her doctoral degree from Louisiana Tech University.
She has served as president of the Southwest Region of the American Accounting Association, Chapter Advocate for the Southwest Region of Beta Alpha Psi, chair of the Texas Society of Public Accountants Educators’ Conference, Historian of the Federation of Business Disciplines, and in other positions with national and regional organizations.
“Dr. Marsh has had a profound impact on students. There are many certified public accountants out there today because Dr. Marsh identified their potential and gave them guidance to change their career path for the better,” Noe said. “She was the most student-friendly professor I know. She always did what was the best for students. Nobody will be able to fill her shoes.”
Marsh was named an outstanding accounting educator by the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Southwestern American Accounting Association, and she was awarded outstanding faculty advisor for Beta Alpha Psi numerous times. She received the 2013 National Author Award from the Association of Government Accountants.
Marsh has published more than 70 research papers and presented at professional meetings, including the American Accounting Association, Decision Science Institute, Clute Institute, and other regional and national conferences.
SFA’s fall commencement ceremonies will begin at 9:30 a.m. at Johnson Coliseum with candidates from the James I. Perkins College of Education and the College of Fine Arts. Candidates from the colleges of business, liberal and applied arts, forestry and agriculture, and sciences and mathematics will participate in a 2 p.m. ceremony.
Approximately 1,070 degrees are expected to be awarded, including 864 bachelor’s, 200 master’s and six doctoral degrees. Almost 270 students are expected to graduate with honors, including 87 cum laude, 74 magna cum laude, 103 summa cum laude and 60 university scholars.
By Kasi Dickerson, senior marketing communications specialist at Stephen F. Austin State University.
