Innovision Spring 2020

SPRING 2020 | 5 May 2020 will mark the last semester of Professor DavidWagaman’s 36-year career at Kutztown University. As a KU alumni turned KU professor, Wagaman wants to leave his mark on KU one last time. As a 1980 graduate, ProfessorWagaman was mentored by BobWeiss, an accounting and tax faculty member, who pushed him to pursue a career in accounting despite ProfessorWagaman’s interest in political science. He recounts, “When I talked about going for a graduate degree in public administration, [Bob] would have nothing of it. I still remember him saying, ‘Be a professional, be a business person.’” From that point on, Professor Wagaman ended up combining the two interests – accounting and political science – in the pursuit of an MS in Taxation degree at Drexel University. At Drexel, ProfessorWagaman had the opportunity to have a teaching assistantship. From that experience, he knew being a college professor would be the job he’d have for the rest of his life. Before applying to academia, Professor Wagaman obtained a position in the tax department of a Big Eight (at the time) accounting firm, Deloitte Haskins and Sells; he thought he needed substantial experience at a firm before making the transition to academia. In the summer of 1984, an adjunct position at KU opened up to teach the introductory accounting course. Professor Wagaman didn’t hear back for weeks despite Dr. Weiss putting in a good word for him. This is where things take a bittersweet turn. A few weeks before the start of the fall 1984 semester, Dr. Weiss had a heart attack and passed away. Because Professor Wagaman and Dr. Weiss worked in the same speciality, he was interviewed for the full-time position and obtained it. From there, Professor Wagaman collected many abroad, student and personal memories he will cherish forever. During his time at Kutztown University, he had the opportunity to spend a portion of his sabbatical leave in 2012 as a visiting professor at Reutlingen University in southwest Germany. He says, “It was a great time and I believe the students at Reutlingen learned a little from me, but I learned a lot from them and their faculty.” Professor Wagaman finds his most important memory to be the countless outstanding students he has taught and mentored over the years. One of his many goals for his students is to create a connection to help them in the future. “One of the things I have tried to do is create a network that would help students land a good job upon graduation. That network is rather extensive and when it came time to form an Accounting Advisory Board, it was a pretty easy task,” he says. This network has helped many of Professor Wagaman’s students excel inside and outside of school and learn about the accounting world. A personal memory ProfessorWagaman is especially proud of is when he was asked to be the commencement speaker at a KU graduation many years ago. Although he agreed to do it with reservations, he put in 25 hours of practice for a 15 minute speech because he never considered himself a good public speaker. Although he was nervous, he advises that practice can help anyone overcome their fears. He says, “I knew the material so well that it helped me overcome any excessive nervousness.” As he transitions away from Kutztown, Professor Wagaman advises all his students, co-workers and alumni to never stop learning, to work hard, play hard and to always do what is right. For the young, incoming professors, he recommends getting involved in a significant way with a professional organization that can help them build their network and help them accomplish many things outside of their teaching. Although Professor Wagaman is taking a step away from Kutztown, a scholarship in his name is being offered to support students in perpetuity. The David Wagaman ‘80 Scholarship is funded by donations and will be given to the chosen student annually in accordance with the KU Foundation. As college costs continue to rise, Professor Wagaman wants to help students achieve academic excellence in any way he can. In the future, Professor Wagaman and his wife plan to travel outside of America, especially to many European countries. Although he is retiring, he wishes to stay active professionally by keeping his CPA license active, doing tax work and teaching as an adjunct professor. He also wishes to tap into his love for music and language by learning guitar and becoming fluent in German. DAVE WAGAMAN Donors can donate online at kuf.org/wagaman