4 minute read
Longtime Professor Names School Of Accounting
from College of Business Administration - Fall 2024
by Central Michigan University College of Business Administration
Philip Kintzele arrived in Mount Pleasant during a St. Patrick’s Day snowstorm in 1980. Then-dean Leonard Plachta, who would go on to become CMU president, picked Kintzele up in his red 1977 Chevy Impala to take the young educator to his faculty interview.
More than four decades later, the School of Accounting at Central Michigan University has been named The Philip L. Kintzele School of Accounting. The naming recognizes Kintzele’s lifetime gift commitments of more than $2 million — the largest employee gift in CMU history.
“Dr. Kintzele has given much of his life — along with significant financial support — to students,” CMU President Emeritus Bob Davies said. “He is a shining example of the kind of faculty we have here at CMU, and this recognition cements his selfless commitment to improving the lives and futures of CMU Chippewas.”
Kintzele, who retired with emeritus status in 2019, established The Philip Kintzele Accounting MBA Scholarship in 1986 to benefit accounting majors in CMU’s accelerated MBA accounting program following completion of their bachelor’s degree. “I’m very thankful — I gave it all I had for 38 years,” Kintzele said.
Chris Moberg, CMU College of Business Administration dean, said Kintzele sets an incredible example for everyone on campus.
“Dr. Kintzele is an inspiration to all of us,” Moberg said. “He’s a role model whose impact on students will continue indefinitely.”
The making of a decades-long career
Kintzele, a car enthusiast, would never forget the make and model of Plachta’s car. But it wasn’t the car that left a lasting impression, it was the former president.
“Leonard was such a genuine person, and he really is the reason I’m here,” Kintzele said.
Kintzele passed the CPA exam after receiving a Doctor of Business Administration in 1973 from Indiana University Bloomington. Following his first teaching assignment at the University of Tennessee, he joined the accounting faculty at the University of Cincinnati in 1976, teaching there for five years before being hired at CMU.
Kintzele taught thousands of students throughout his career. He served as chair of the accounting department for nearly 24 years over the course of two appointments and was the advisor of registered student groups Beta Alpha Psi and the Student Accounting Society.
He led the way in the CMU School of Accounting becoming only the second school in the state to attain accounting accreditation from AACSB — the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. He sees it as one of his greatest professional achievements and has helped maintain the accreditation ever since.
But when asked about his students, this is where his greatest pride shines through.
“It makes me proud to see where some of my students have landed. Some are partners at CPA firms and some have been successful in the corporate world,” Kintzele said. “I’m proud to have been a part of their educational experience.”
Paying it forward
Kintzele’s reason for giving to CMU is simple: he’s dedicated to paying it forward.
“As a student, I was able to get scholarships to help me get through college. I was so fortunate — I went and got all of these degrees and I had no debt,” Kintzele emotionally recalls.
Jennifer Cotter, CMU vice president for advancement, said Kintzele’s financial contributions will help countless students.
“I know the students who have been impacted by Dr. Kintzele’s accounting MBA scholarship are forever grateful for his support — as he is for the support he received as a student. I hope they’ll also pay it forward when they can. This is what we do at CMU,” Cotter said.
Kintzele’s also has started endowments in his name that benefit CMU’s wrestling program and the university library.
