UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State alumnus Bob Libby was honored in late April at the annual banquet for Beta Alpha Psi — an international honors organization for accounting students and professionals — as the Penn State Smeal College of Business Accounting Department Distinguished Alumnus of the Year.
“We’re pleased to recognize Bob this year as our Accounting Alumnus of the Year for both his service to the college and his outstanding career success,” said Steven Huddart, chair of the Department of Accounting. “This award is a way for us to demonstrate our pride in our many accomplished alumni, and to recognize those who remain involved with Smeal.”
After receiving his bachelor’s in accounting from Penn State in 1970, Libby was a member of the faculty from 1973 to 1976. He is now the David A. Thomas Professor of Management at Cornell University’s SC Johnson Graduate School of Management.
Libby’s primary teaching interests are financial accounting, financial statement analysis, and behavioral decision theory. His research centers on the interplay among managers’ financial reporting decisions, financial analysts’ forecasts, and auditors’ assurance strategies. Most of his work is conducted within frameworks developed in the psychology of human judgment and decision making.
His book “Accounting and Human Information Processing: Theory and Applications” received the AAA/AICPA Notable Contribution to the Literature Award in 1985. His article “Determinants and Judgment Performance in Accounting” won the same award in 1996.
Libby has won several teaching awards. He is a former co-editor of The Accounting Review and currently serves on several editorial boards. He is also the author of three best-selling accounting texts.
He also serves on Smeal’s Accounting Advisory Board, a group of alumni from academia and industry interested in promoting accounting education and furthering its development and practice. The board meets twice a year to provide perspectives on the curriculum and other aspects of the Smeal experience that affect students’ career preparation.
Patricia A. "Pat" Libby, Bob's wife, is also a Penn State accounting graduate. She is retired from the faculty at Ithaca College. Both Bob and Pat have been philanthropic supporters of Smeal.