By Mark Reutter
Hanns-Martin Schoenfeld, professor emeritus of accountancy at the UI, received
the prestigious Dr. Kausch Prize on Jan. 14 at ceremonies at the University
of St. Gallen, Switzerland.
The Kausch Prize, which carries a cash award of 75,000 Swiss francs (about
$60,000 U.S.) recognizes Schoenfeld's contributions to the integration of
European and American accounting methods.
During his 35-year career at the UI, Schoenfeld has published 130 articles
and 14 books on topics such as accounting for multinational companies, privatization
and the development of environmental accounting.
He is the first American to receive the award, which was established in
1984 by Fritz Kausch, a German and Swiss industrialist.
"I am elated; I still can't believe it," Schoenfeld said shortly
before leaving for Switzerland to receive the prize. He will be teaching
this winter at the Economic University of Vienna and Handelsschule Leipzig,
Europe's oldest business school, before returning to the UI in May.
"I intend to use the award money for further research," Schoenfeld
said. "This gives me a chance to pursue a number of projects."
Schoenfeld, who was born in Leipzig, Germany, earned his master's and doctoral
degrees at the University of Hamburg and the University of Braunschweig.
He taught throughout Europe before joining the UI faculty in 1962.
At the UI, he headed the office of West European Studies between 1980 and
1983. He was awarded the Commerce Alumni Association Excellence in Graduate
Teaching Award in 1975 and the Commerce Award for Professional Development
and Teaching in 1993.
Although he retired officially in 1994, Schoenfeld continues to teach Managerial
Accounting for the Illinois Executive MBA program and Introductory Accounting
for foreign business students.
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