LHU professors Sharon B. Stringer and Randall L. Hartman

LOCK HAVEN, Pa. - The Faculty Professional Development Council (FPDC) of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education has awarded grants to two Lock Haven University professors. Dr. Sharon B. Stringer, associate professor of communication media, and Dr. Randall L. Hartman, professor of accounting, received notification of their awards on April 10. Of the 117 proposals submitted to the FPDC, only 42 participants were selected.

Stringer’s proposal was submitted under the individual career advancement category and will be used to attend a technology training boot camp for journalists. The boot camp is sponsored by the Investigative Reporters and Editors Association and will take place at the University of Missouri at Columbia. The boot camp provides an opportunity to gain information that will enhance Stringer’s courses and include on-line delivery and reporting techniques in the curriculum. Her grant award is $2325.

Stringer has been at LHU since 2000. She said, “I’m committed to continuing education and professional development and take every opportunity I can to enhance my teaching.” She added, “I’m looking forward to the boot camp and having an opportunity to interact with practitioners who can give me a timely explanation on how they are coping with the rapid changes in the newspaper industry. I am particularly blessed to take advantage of PASSHE’s support for faculty development. The information that I learn during my summer experience will pay dividends for my students who begin a job search in difficult economic times.”

Hartman’s project will result in the creation of an electronic auditing tool to be used in the accounting curriculum of Lock Haven University. The tool will integrate Audit Command Language (ACL) software with an electronic audit workpaper program in an effort to more closely simulate actual auditing experience. ACL is a statistical program that simplifies the analysis of large volumes of data and is used to help develop an individualized audit plan for a client. The finished product will have students utilize ACL while auditing a client’s transactions, balances and internal control, and checking for fraudulent activities. Hartman’s grant award is $6500.

Hartman is in his second year at Lock Haven University. He is an accounting professor with interest in accounting education and legal liability of accountants. He earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Business Administration from Shippensburg University and his Juris Doctor from Widener University School of Law.
Hartman said, “My grant will fund professional development in the use and understanding of state-of-the-art auditing software. In addition, the finished product will also directly transfer to the accounting students at Lock Haven through its use in simulated real life examples.” He added, “This project would not have been undertaken without the generous funding by the Faculty Professional Development Council. The true benefit of this grant will inure not only to our accounting students but also to the future employers who seek out our exceptional students.”
The awards notification letters to Stringer and Hartman stated, “The selection of your proposal is testimony to your exceptional ability to describe and delineate the significance of the project that you plan to pursue.” Stringer and Hartman will serve as peer reviewers in future rounds of the Annual Grants Program.