Award-Winning PhD Project Announces University of Northern Iowa New Professor, Dr. Cathalene Bowler

The PhD Project, an award-winning program to create a more diverse corporate America, announces that Project participant, Dr. Cathalene Bowler, successfully defended her dissertation titled, “The Impact of FIN48 on Earnings Management.” Dr. Bowler receives her Ph.D. in accounting from Morgan State University and will join the faculty at University of Northern Iowa.

Dr. Bowler is one of only 108 female, African-American, Accounting business school professors in the U.S., most of whom have become professors since The PhD Project was created in 1994. The Project's vision is to diversify corporate America by increasing the number of minority business professors (African-American, Hispanic-American and Native American), who attract more minority students to study business in college.

"Dr. Bowler has succeeded in the very difficult endeavor of becoming a B-School Professor,” said Bernard J. Milano, President of The PhD Project and president of the KPMG Foundation, founder and lead funder of the program. “She has demonstrated dedication, hard work and intelligence in joining the rapidly growing ranks of minorities choosing to influence the next generation of business leaders as college professors. The PhD Project takes great pride in her achievement, and looks forward to following her success throughout her career.”

The PhD Project, a 501(c) (3) organization that the KPMG Foundation founded in 1994, recruits minority professionals from business into doctoral programs in all business disciplines. Since its inception, The PhD Project has been responsible for the increase in the number of minority business professors from 294 to 1,200. Further, 340 minorities are currently enrolled in doctoral programs, and will take a place at the front of the classroom over the next few years. The Project attacks the root cause of minority under-representation in corporate jobs: historically, very few minority college students study business as an entrée to a corporate career.  Diversifying the faculty attracts more minorities to study business and better prepares all students to function in a diverse workforce.

Dr. Bowler began her PhD journey by attending 2007 November PhD Project Conference. Each year, highly qualified professionals who are considering leaving their careers to enter doctoral programs in business are invited to The PhD Project Conference where they hear from deans, professors and current minority doctoral students about the benefits of pursuing a business Ph.D.  Conference participants are provided with  the tools and resources they need for the application/admission process to doctoral programs. Once they enter a program, every minority business doctoral student in an AACSB accredited U.S. business school becomes a member of one of The Project’s five (accounting, finance, information systems, marketing and management) Doctoral Student Associations (DSAs). Each year, The Project holds a Conference for each of the five DSAs where the doctoral students  come together forming a strong support network while receiving important tools to help them navigate their doctoral programs. Dr. Bowler is a KPMG Minority Scholarship recipient and a member of The PhD Project Accounting Doctoral Students Association. 

Some of America’s top companies, foundations, associations and academic organizations support The PhD Project. They are: KPMG Foundation, Graduate Management Admission Council, Citi Foundation, AACSB International, 250 universities, AICPA Foundation, DiversityInc, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, The Merck Company Foundation, Microsoft Corporation, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Rockwell Collins, American Marketing Association, John Deere Foundation,  AT&T, CIGNA, ADP, The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, California State University System,  Edison International, Lincoln Financial Group, Aerotek/TEKsystems (operating companies of Allegis Group), 3M and American Accounting Association.

 For more information visit: http://www.phdproject.org or contact Lisa King at 646-234-5080 or lisak@mediaimpact.biz.