Illinois’ Donohoe named Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professor

 Gies College of Business professor Michael Donohoe has been named one of the Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors for 2018 by Poets&Quants. Donohoe is an associate professor in the Department of Accountancy and PwC Faculty Fellow at the University of Illinois, where he has taught since 2011. Donohoe was featured on Poets&Quants' second annual list in part because of his ability “to ensure life isn’t taken too seriously by students.”

“If my students can think deeply and remember to laugh, then I’ve done my job,” Donohoe told Poets&Quants.

The popular business publication aims to find professors whose passion, approach, and innovation in the classroom set them apart from their peers.

“I entered accounting and academia, in part, because of an inspiring professor. Therefore, I strongly believe in making genuine personal connections with students,” said Donohoe, who currently teaches Taxation of Business Entities to undergraduate students at Gies Business. “Evidence that I am making a meaningful impact in the classroom is an award in and of itself.”

“Michael Donohoe embodies our mission in the Department of Accountancy at Gies College of Business - to lead the world in accountancy education and thought,” said Brooke Elliott, head of the Department of Accountancy at Gies Business. “Michael’s commitment to innovation in education is reflected in his creation of Sunchaser Shakery to teach online students how a firm progresses through the entire corporate and pass-through entity cycle to his faculty-led international immersion trip to the BVI to expose students to the ins and outs of tax havens. We could not be more proud in Accountancy for Michael to be recognized externally for his excellence and innovation in teaching.”

Donohoe has quite a list of awards he has won recently. He won the Illinois CPA Society’s Outstanding Educator Award in 2018. He also earned the Outstanding Young Alumni Award from the University of Florida, where he earned is BS in Accounting in 2001 and his PhD in Accounting in 2011. Donohoe also holds a master’s degree in taxation from the University of North Florida, where he graduated with the highest honors. He has worked in the private sector as a tax association for PwC and as a senior tax associate for Gunn & Company, PA.

Donohoe’s research lies at the intersection of financial reporting and corporate taxation. He teaches Taxation of Business Entities in the iMSA program, the fully online Masters of Science in Accountancy Program. He draws on his vast experience in tax from both practice and government perspectives to provide a broad view that emphasizes the importance of policy and regulation. With regard to teaching content and innovations, he uses the organization of the course as well as projects to aid in students’ understanding of the material. Donohoe previously taught Principles of Taxation, a required course for undergraduate accountancy students for six years. Every year since 2012, Donohoe has earned placement on the List of Teachers Ranked as Excellent by their Students at the University.