Jerry E. Trapnell, Ph.D., CPA

 Biographical Information

Jerry Trapnell is Executive Vice President and Chief Accreditation Officer for AACSB International, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.  He assumed this position August 2, 2004. Prior to his current position, he served as dean of the College of Business and Behavioral Science at Clemson University, a position he held since 1993.  He served as the 2002-03 chair of the Board of Directors of AACSB International and served on the AACSB Board from 1999 through 2004.  Prior to becoming Dean at Clemson, he served as director and professor of the Clemson University School of Accountancy. He joined the Clemson accounting program in 1986 after serving on the faculty of the department of accounting at Louisiana State University-Baton Rouge for 10 years.  At LSU, he was also assistant dean for undergraduate studies in the College of Business. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Georgia in 1977, his B.S. and M.S. from Clemson University in 1968 and 1970, respectively.   

A CPA in Louisiana, he serves or has served on committees and boards of directors of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Accounting Programs Leadership Group (including serving as president) of the American Accounting Association, Federation of Schools of Accountancy, Institute of Management Accountants, AACSB International, Southern Business Administration Association (SBAA) and the South Carolina Association of CPAs (SCACPA).  He is a past president of the SBAA.  He received two teaching awards at LSU and was recognized as the 1987 Outstanding Alumnus by the Clemson Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi, the national honorary and professional accounting fraternity.  In 1983 he was recognized by Beta Alpha Psi as one of the top faculty advisors in the country.  He received the Award of Excellence from the Louisiana Society of CPA’s for earning the highest score in the state on the May 1978 CPA examination.  He has published articles in a variety of professional and academic journals including Management Accounting, The Internal Auditor, Contemporary Accounting Research, Advances in Accounting, Journal of Accounting, Auditing, and Finance, Managerial Planning, Journal of Financial Research, National Public Accountant, and Business and Economic Review.  He has presented programs at a variety of professional organizations at the local and national level including the Southern Business Administration Association, AACSB International, the South Carolina Association of CPAs, Institute of Management Accountants, Federation of Schools of Accountancy, and the American Accounting Association.  He has served on the board of directors of three companies and is active in a variety of civic and local community activities.