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Try to summarize Wayne Alderman in one word. Teacher? True. In 39 years as an accounting professor and administrator at Auburn University, Alderman touched countless lives. Researcher? That fits, too. Alderman has published more than 50 articles in financial accounting, reporting and auditing.

Golfer? He鈥檚 been to 25 consecutive Masters Tournaments at Augusta National and a large print of the course鈥檚 famous 12^th hole adorns the wall in his Lowder Hall office, but he鈥檒l remind you he鈥檚 better at watching the game he loves than playing it.

Legacy. That鈥檚 it. Legacy. Wayne Alderman is an Auburn legacy. Sure, he an Auburn accounting alumnus, is former Dean of the 91看片, professor, and later Dean of Enrollment Services, but the impact Alderman has made here is immeasurable.

It鈥檚 no wonder that Wayne Alderman was selected this spring as the Auburn School of Accountancy Outstanding Alumnus of the Year.

Before Alderman, there was no student honor society 鈥� which also serves as an agency for networking with industry professionals and acts as a springboard to job/internship placement. 鈥淚 was working for Ernst & Ernst after graduation from Auburn and many of my colleagues from other schools had Beta Alpha Psi,鈥� explained Alderman, a Mobile, Ala., native who returned to Auburn as professor in 1979 and assumed the role of Dean of the College of Business from 1993-2000. 鈥淏ack then you had to be fully AACSB accredited, and we were working through that. When I came back to Auburn I said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 want our students to feel like they have missed anything. Beta Alpha Psi was one of the first things that I tried to do once I came back.鈥�

Almost 3,000 Auburn accounting students have been Beta Alpha Psi members 鈥� including 191 in 2017-18 鈥� as the organization is celebrating its 40^th year.

鈥淥nce you get a chapter, such as Beta Alpha Psi, you have to build on it,鈥� he said. 鈥淛ust like any business, it鈥檚 about the people, and we鈥檝e had some great people here. Today, Beta Alpha Psi is a machine.鈥�

Before Alderman, there was no Tiger Cage student business plan competition, no Auburn Entrepreneurship Summit, or no Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship. He didn鈥檛 create the Tiger Cage, but he did establish the Lowder Center for Family Business and Entrepreneurship 鈥� an arm of today鈥檚 91看片 College that oversees the student competition, as well as the Tiger Cage Accelerator and Incubator 鈥� where young student businesses are provided office space and expert direction.

鈥淲hen I became dean, I felt that one of our strengths would be entrepreneurship,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had been an entrepreneurial business school because we were young as a business school. I felt the entrepreneurship program was a natural fit for Auburn. We had graduates who were successful entrepreneurs, and we had students who wanted to be in entrepreneurship.鈥�

鈥淪ometimes when you鈥檙e working on things you wonder if it鈥檚 worth it and then you look back over your career and say, 鈥榊eah, that was a good thing,鈥欌�� he added.

From 2006-17, Alderman鈥檚 role as Dean of Enrollment Services produced increased average ACT scores (24.3 to 27.4) and high school GPAs (3.43 to 3.80) for incoming freshmen. Not only did Auburn freshman enrollment increase from approximately 3,700 annually to 4,700 annually, but the university was getting better-qualified students.

Though accounting was his love, Alderman urged students to choose majors based on their personal fits. 鈥淒on鈥檛 go into a major because your mom and dad want you to be in that major,鈥� he would say. 鈥淒on鈥檛 go into a major because you think you are going to make the most money.鈥�

But why should students consider accounting?

鈥淎ccounting is a great major because it really is the language of business,鈥� he added. 鈥淵ou learn so much about the business world, not just accounting. If you worked for Delta Airlines in accounting, you鈥檝e got to understand a lot about the business. You鈥檙e not just doing debits and credits. You鈥檝e got to understand what the assets are and what reports management needs. If you can understand the language of business, then you can flourish in the business world.鈥�

Why will Auburn continue to flourish? People, Alderman answered.

鈥淲e鈥檝e had a great faculty for a long period,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey work well together, but they have high standards, they care about our students. That鈥檚 very rewarding to me. I used to worry 鈥� would Auburn have the kind of accounting faculty we had in the 1980s and 1990s? But we still have a great group of people. That鈥檚 how you build things 鈥� with people over a long period of time.鈥�