PHD PROGRAM CELEBRATES FIRST GRADUATE

Joseph A. Micale, PhD ’21

On May 25, Joseph A. Micale, PhD ’21, became the first graduate of the Gabelli School’s PhD program. He accepted a tenure-track position as an assistant professor of accounting at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which he began in the fall.

“It is easy to see how Joe Micale is a model first graduate of the program,” said Iftekhar Hasan, PhD, University Professor and E. Gerald Corrigan Chair in International Business and Finance and Director of the PhD Program. “I foresee him as a successful researcher and a dedicated academic who will bring Fordham values to educating future generations of university students at prestigious institutions.”

As a doctoral student, Micale completed several academic papers on auditing and accounting regulation, including three that are currently under revision at the Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, Accounting and Business Research, and Accounting Horizons. He decided to pursue a doctorate while he was working as a public accountant at RSM US LLP and chose the Gabelli School’s PhD program over those offered at several other business schools.

“I think the two-pronged approach of having access to impactful teaching and also developing that intellectual curiosity for research are the core staples of the program,” said Micale, who attended the hooding and graduation ceremony in May, at which 973 diplomas were awarded. “That excitement to continue to learn is something that naturally flows into your lectures and into your teaching. It did a great job of preparing me.”

Hasan said that the PhD program, which was launched in 2016, offers a full-time, research-intensive curriculum to equip students to become significant researchers and well-trained instructors with the ability to make academic and social impacts in their respective disciplines. It currently has six PhD candidates, two of whom are nearing completion and are poised for promising job prospects in academia. Both have presented at several competitive industry conferences, including the AAA American Finance Association and the American Accounting Association.

“Our goal is to create teachers and mentors for future generations of students,” Hasan said. “Our program is academically rigorous and complements the already strong research culture at the Gabelli School.”