EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Tony Kurek, a full-time lecturer in accounting at Eastern Michigan University, will be formally honored Oct. 8 as an outstanding teacher by the state’s top accounting organization.

Kurek has been named the recipient of the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA) 2020 Accounting Teaching Excellence Award. 

He will be formally honored at the association’s virtual awards dinner on October 8 in Novi. The association is also honoring Kurek in  a special video with his perspective on teaching. To register for the virtual celebration, see the special MICPA registration page.

Bob Doyle, President and CEO of the association, praised Kurek’s approach to teaching in notifying him of the award earlier this year.

Instilling crucial values in students

“On behalf of everyone at the Michigan Association of CPAs, I’d like to personally congratulate you on being selected as the recipient of our 2020 Accounting Teaching Excellence Award,” Doyle wrote. “You clearly understand the importance of the lead up to becoming an accounting professional. You instill the value of being a well-rounded and “all-in” student in order to become a contributing member of the profession and its mission.”

Kurek expressed his gratitude and appreciation of the statewide honor.

“When I left public practice almost twelve years ago for this full-time position in academia, it never once crossed my mind that someday I would be receiving such a prestigious honor for the body of work that resulted from that decision,” he said. “I’m grateful that EMU, my alma mater, trusts in me, and provides me with the opportunity to positively impact students’ lives in the same way that so many EMU professors and lecturers impacted mine.

“Helping a student to fulfill his or her full potential is the ultimate goal; and the sense of accomplishment I feel when I am able to both challenge and motivate a student to do just that is unmatched by anything else I’ve experienced professionally.”   

A real-world connection

Kurek earned his master’s and bachelor’s degrees in accounting at Eastern and teaches courses in both financial and managerial cost accounting at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He says he seeks to provide students with a real-world connection to the instructional materials by drawing upon his previous experiences as an external auditor with Plante Moran in Toledo, and as a financial consultant to small businesses through his LLC, A. Kurek Accounting and Consulting, which he still operates today.

Kurek was honored with EMU’s 2010–11 Lecturer's Outstanding Teaching Award. His University service includes serving as faculty adviser to the EMU chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants, as a member of the College of Business Professional and Ethics Committee and as treasurer to the EMU Federation of Teachers. He also advises students on accounting career options and certifications and on career placement strategies.

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest public university in Michigan. It currently serves nearly 18,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Engineering and Technology; Health and Human Services; and, its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.