After five and half years of keeping NIU’s accounting program one of the best in the nation, Chairman Greg Carnes has taken another position.

In December, Carnes will transfer to a job at his alma mater, Lipscomb University.

Carnes’ decision to leave NIU did not come easily.

“This was an opportunity that I was approached with,” Carnes said.”Leaving will be hard because NIU is a great place with an excellent accounting program and I really enjoyed working here.”

During his tenure at NIU, one of Carnes’ responsibilities was to keep the accounting program strong during a time when multiple faculty members were retiring.

“The department was very strong even before I got here,” Carnes said. “It has been nationally ranked for over 20 years. My job was to maintain the excellence that has always been there.”

The fact that Carnes upheld the degree of excellence in NIU’s accounting program is most likely one of the reasons why his presence at Lipscomb University has been requested.

“Lipscomb is a smaller, private university,” Carnes said.”One of their goals for their university is to seek accreditation, which is what we have here at NIU.”

Although his presence is needed elsewhere, Carnes remains sure the accounting program at NIU will continue to be successful.

“The program has a very bright future,” Carnes said. “There is a large network of support that exists among the faculty, students and alumni.”

Despite the promising outlook for the accounting program, his presence will be missed.

“Greg has been a valuable colleague, and we’re very sorry to see him leave,” accountancy associate professor Dave Sinason said. “But he’s making a good career move that satisfies his goals.”

The fact that Carnes is leaving during a time when the College of Business is in search of a new dean does not seem to be a major concern.

“We were supposed to find a new dean this year, but we haven’t,” Sinason said. “You can’t put your life on hold while an organization looks to fill all of its positions. If you waited for everything to be in place to make a move, you’d never make a move. This college is constantly changing and that is a good thing.”

Accountancy assistant professor Katrina Mantzke said Carnes was a strong leader.

“The department has a reputation for providing students with skills to do well in their profession,” Mantzke said. “He ensured that continued and has made sure that students have had lots of positive opportunities.”