Visiting professors Marilyn Johnson, left, and Raymond Johnson stand in front of the UOG School of Business and Public Administration. 

“This is a valuable opportunity for our students, our accounting program, and our community to be able to gain insight from professionals with international experience,” said SBPA Dean Annette T. Santos.

Raymond Johnson — whose professional background includes a 35-year career with PSU as well as time teaching auditing and accounting courses at universities in Australia and England — is a certified public accountant, author, and the first recipient of the Harry C. Visse Excellence in Teaching Fellowship. He has served on and chaired several accounting boards and committees related to accounting education and industry ethics, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Professional Ethics Executive Committee, which sets ethical standards for CPAs in the United States, and the advisory group to the International Accounting Education Standards Board.

Johnson will teach two upper-division auditing classes and a few continuing education seminars. Additionally, he will work with SBPA faculty to develop a capstone course for the Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting program. 

“At PSU, I created and taught a case-oriented capstone course for all students majoring in accounting. The course was designed to help students develop the skills required of all professional accountants: critical thinking, technology, and ethical skills,” he said. “I’m hoping to work with SBPA faculty to bring a similar course to UOG.”

Having more than 10 years of experience using technology in the classroom, Marilyn Johnson will introduce an online system in adaptive learning to help students prepare for the Accounting Competency Exam at UOG. 

“The system is designed to refresh a student’s accounting knowledge as they prepare for the exam,” she said. “Hopefully, this program will lead to significantly higher pass rates — thereby encouraging students to continue their coursework and eventually advance into the accounting profession.” 

Their visiting professorship is possible through the Senator Herminia Dierking and John Phillips Visiting Accounting Professor and Lecturer Program, which received a $1 million donation from the Guam Board of Accountancy in December through the UOG Endowment Foundation. The program was established by Public Law 32-191 in 2014.

“We are so grateful for the support from the Guam Board of Accountancy and look forward to Dr. Raymond and Marilyn’s contributions in the classroom, to the accounting degree program, to our professional accounting community, and the local and regional community at large,” Santos said.