Professor Sandra Shelton
Sandra Shelton was studying for her PhD in accountancy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the early 1990s when she was given the opportunity to meet all of the other accountancy PhD candidates of color from across the United States. There were only seven.
“I can remember each of their faces, their names, everything about them because I was just so happy to see them,” recalled Shelton, the KPMG/Neil F. Casson Endowed Professor of Accountancy at DePaul University, in a 2014 College News interview. “I didn’t even know another person of color who had finished their PhD in accounting. I had never seen one. And I was determined that once I finished the PhD program, I was going to make it easier for other people of color to get a PhD in business.”
Shelton kept that promise by becoming a founding member of the PhD Project. Over nearly three decades the nonprofit organization has inspired hundreds of students of color—including several of Shelton’s DePaul colleagues—to attain PhDs. She was a member of DePaul’s Driehaus College of Business faculty for 27 years, distinguishing herself as an award-winning teacher. Shelton died at Evanston Hospital on Oct. 4 following a stroke.
“There are only 110 Black women that have ever been awarded a PhD in accounting in the U.S. Only four of those became full professors with an endowed chair,” says DePaul Assistant Professor of Accountancy Stephani Mason, a PhD Project alumna. “Sandra was, without a doubt, a trailblazer. With all of her accomplishments, she was still one of the kindest people I have known. She was my colleague, but most importantly she was my friend. My existence as an accounting academic was made possible because of the sacrifices that Sandra Shelton made.”
Professor Sandra Shelton (second from right) with PhD Project
alumni (left to right) James Mourey, DePaul associate professor
of marketing; Stephani Mason, DePaul assistant professor of
accountancy; and Willie Reddic, Syracuse University associate
professor of accountancy and a former DePaul faculty member.
Shelton was one of the first recipients of the KPMG Doctoral Scholarship, and after earning her PhD she served as a member of the planning committee for The PhD Project, which the “The many students, alumni and faculty members who have overcome obstacles to succeed—led by Sandra’s example—are her legacy.” Thomas Donley, interim dean 15 KPMG Foundation co-founded in 1994 to address the underrepresentation of minorities on the faculties of U.S. business schools. Since then, more than 1,500 minority business professors have earned their doctoral degrees with PhD Project support. In 2014, Shelton was named to the PhD Project Hall of Fame for inspiring students of color to earn PhDs, which, in turn, encourages students of color to study business.
At DePaul, Shelton taught auditing and corporate governance classes and published research that focused on judgment and decision-making issues with financial information. She was recognized as Educator of the Year by the Chicago Chapter of the Institute of Internal Auditors in 2008 and 2014. She chaired the Driehaus College of Business’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, which provides recommendations for the college’s DEI efforts.
“The many students, alumni and faculty members who have overcome obstacles to succeed—led by Sandra’s example—are her legacy,” Thomas Donley, interim dean of the Driehaus College of Business, says. “Ray Whittington, director of the School of Accountancy & MIS, and I send Sandra’s family our sincere condolences and join the university community in mourning Sandra’s loss. Her warmth and caring will be much missed in our community.”
The Sandra Shelton Memorial Scholarship Fund has been established at DePaul University. Contributions may be made at give.depaul.edu/SandraShelton. Read the full story on Shelton’s legacy at DePaul at go.depaul.edu/RememberingShelton.
By Robin Florzak