Seniors Vote to Honor Professor Elise Bartley with Faculty Award

Professor Elise Bartley was surprised at Westminster College commencement exercises to find seniors had voted for her to receive the Patricia Klein Liebling Parents Association Faculty Award.

The criteria for the award are that the recipient is a faculty member who leads by example, and demonstrates a strong commitment to all aspects of student success by being a caring and competent instructor, advisor and mentor.

Before coming to Westminster, Professor Bartley earned her Masters of Accountancy from the University of Missouri and became a Certified Public Accountant.  She began her career as an accountant for Ernst & Young in Kansas City.

Then in 2010, she came to Westminster as an Assistant Professor of Accounting.

Professor Bartley is known for the broad range of accounting classes she teaches, from tax accounting to government and non-profit accounting to a really fun class on accounting scandal and fraud.  She consistently gets her students out into the community through her service-learning courses, helping prepare taxes for Fulton residents.

In her research and writing, she is known as an outstanding collaborator, working with colleagues from Physics, Exercise Science, History, and Science Education on methods of effective teaching across the disciplines.

Yet even more impressive is the determination and grace with which she has run the Accounting Program single-handedly over the past few years.  In addition to teaching most of the courses, managing adjuncts, and advising over 50 students, Professor Bartley has maintained a very high standard for her accounting majors.

Since she joined the Westminster faculty, her graduates have gone on to work for all four of the “Big 4” accounting firms nationwide–Ernst & Young, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Deloitte, and KPMG).

While her students know that she means business, Professor Bartley is also known as one of the most kind and caring faculty members on campus.  She seems to always have time to tutor and advise, serve on yet another committee, or speak at a chapel service to encourage students.  Her care for students exemplifies what makes the Westminster educational experience unlike any other.

Kay and Adolph Ogar, Co-Presidents of the Westminster Parents Association, and Lauren Spohn, President of the Senior class, made the award presentation.

The Patricia Klein Liebling Parents Association Faculty Award is named for one of the founding members of the Parents Association, Patricia Klein Liebling, in honor of her dedication to Westminster College throughout her courageous battle with cancer.

This annual faculty award is sponsored by the Westminster Parents Association, which works to keep parent members informed about what is happening at the College and assists with campus needs that benefit the students.