School of Business > UPDATE > Summer 2002 > Article

Ernie Hanson: Accounting Professor's Career Adds Up to Service

Ernie Hanson's career has been distinguished by a lifetime of service to the School of Business and to the accounting profession.

The School of Business has benefited from his efforts in a variety of ways. The most obvious way was through his teaching. In his teaching evaluations over the years, students routinely rated him as an excellent teacher. In 1988, Business Week identified Hanson as one of the most popular professors in the school's graduate programs.

He also has played key roles in the school's administration. "Ernie Hanson has been a leader in the Department of Accounting and Information Systems over the last 30 years," according to Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs R.D. Nair. "Through his teaching of financial accounting and his authorship of major accounting textbooks, he has influenced thousands of students at Wisconsin and around the country. He also participated extensively in continuing education offerings on campus. As department chair, he was responsible for recruiting many of our current senior faculty in accounting. Ernie also provided extensive service to the university at the campus level. He's been an unsung hero for the entire school, making invaluable contributions and leading a variety of important initiatives. The department, the school and the university are all better places because of Ernie's dedication and loyalty to this institution," said Nair.

A prominent example of Hanson's contributions to the business school came in 1998. When the Evening MBA program was created, Hanson again stepped to the plate. "Ernie was always there when leadership was needed," former Dean Andrew J. Policano recalled recently. "He had a knack for getting to the heart of the issues, working easily with everyone and getting the job done."

Hanson also has been a leader at the national and state level in the accounting profession, serving on numerous committees of the American Accounting Association, the Federation of Schools of Accountancy and the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs (WICPA). In recognition of his many contributions, WICPA awarded Hanson its Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education Award in 1997. The award reflects both teaching excellence and contributions to the accounting profession.

Ernest Hanson

• Professor of Accounting and Information Systems
• Director, Evening MBA Program
• Joined School of Business in 1965

Career Highlights: Taught courses in financial accounting and reporting. Chaired Department of Accounting and Information Systems 1975-1982. Authored two textbooks on accounting and financial accounting. Led the Evening MBA program 1998-2002.

Awards: Lawrence J. Larson Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Erwin A. Gaumnitz Distinguished Faculty Award, both from the School of Business. Lifetime Achievement in Accounting Education Award from the Wisconsin Institute of CPAs (WICPA). Received Elija Watts Sells Silver Medal Award on CPA examination in 1966. In 1991 was named one of top 100 teachers on the UW-Madison campus.