Professor Ashley Stampone is a Royal through and through. She earned both a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in business administration from the University’s Kania School of Management. Then, after five years in the field, she returned to guide the next generation of accountants in the classroom and through the Institute of Management Accountants (IMA) Student Chapter.
In the business world, Stampone amassed experience with a global manufacturer, a leading producer of salt, one of the nation’s top 25 accounting firms, and, most recently, multinational-retailer QVC.
She talks with The Scranton Journal about leveraging insight from her time in public accounting and private industry to help students understand concepts critical to their future careers. She explains how institutional membership at the national level benefits students and all the ways they make her proud.
How has your role at the University evolved, and what does it encompass today?
I started at the University as a faculty specialist in the fall of 2016 and, since then, have transitioned to an assistant professor role. I serve as the faculty adviser to the IMA Student Chapter, director of the on-campus MBA, and on a variety of University committees. I teach courses at the undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level, including those within the [Kania School of Management’s] Frank P. Corcione Business Honors Program and the Robert L. McKeage Business Leadership Honors Program. As the on-campus MBA director, I have the pleasure to interact with and advise our domestic and international graduate students. I also oversee graduate assistants within the business school.
I help students develop the skills they need to be successful once they graduate, but also try to instill in them the ability to be adaptable and accepting of change. “ — Ashley L. Stampone ’10, G’11
Prior to joining the University faculty in 2016, you worked for businesses with global footprints, including QVC Inc., Bridon American Corp., International Salt Co. and ParenteBeard LLC. How does that experience inform what you do?
The accounting industry is continuously changing! Whether it is an update to an accounting pronouncement, a new required disclosure, new technology or new framework, the day-to-day tasks of what students will experience right after graduation will not be the same as they progress through their career. I help students develop the skills they need to be successful once they graduate, but also try to instill in them the ability to be adaptable and accepting of change.
The University’s IMA student chapter has been recognized as one of the top five in the country. What have your students gained through that organization?
Since its inception in 2017, our student chapter has attained gold-level achievement for four years, and in three of those years we have received the IMA Award of Excellence. Last year, one of our teams made it to the finals in the IMA Case Competition, where students were able to present in front of a live audience at the annual meeting in Austin, Texas. Three students were chosen for the highly selective “Jimmie Smith” Leadership Experience, in which only five students worldwide are selected to participate in the IMA governance process. Also, many of our members have been selected for academic scholarships. I am so proud of our members for all they have achieved, and of past and current student officers for their leadership and commitment. They organized valuable meetings and events for our student members, especially during the pandemic when we needed to pivot to a virtual format.
You have received numerous honors over the last few years. (2019 Faculty Leadership Award from the IMA, the University’s Kania School of Management Professor of the Year award in 2020 and 2021, the 2021 Ursel K. Albers IMA Campus Advocate of the Year Award, and the 2021 Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) Young Leaders Award)
You also were recognized among the Northeast Pennsylvania Business Journal’s Top 20 Under 40 in 2022. What do you think makes you stand out to those groups?
Overall, it was a humbling experience to receive these recognitions from the students, the professional organizations (IMA and PICPA), and the community. I truly enjoy teaching and helping students understand critical accounting concepts, and I believe that excitement and care for their academic and professional goals translates to the classroom. Students know that they can stop by my office or email with any questions regarding class material, job or internship opportunities or the accounting field in general.
In 1972, The University of Scranton began accepting women into undergraduate education as full-time students. As an alum, what does that milestone mean to you?
Given the amount of very successful alumni from the University who are women, it is crazy to believe that it has only been 50 years! It shows that when the opportunity is available for women to succeed, we will. It gives me a great amount of pride to have a Scranton education and to be able to fulfill my career aspirations at an institution that has given me so much. I remember reading a previous Scranton Journal article about Rose Marie (Rosie) Loven Bukics (also an accountant and in academia!) in which she shared her experiences from one of the first graduating classes. I was not surprised to read that the business school faculty created a learning environment that was challenging, but also caring and supportive. My views mirror that sentiment about the culture: It’s a place where the education is unsurpassed, and the faculty want to see the students succeed to the best of their abilities.
As a professor, what do you enjoy about being able to mentor other women and seeing them carry on that legacy of coeducation at the University?
There is no more rewarding feeling than seeing your students succeed. In my short time back at the University, I have had the pleasure of working with many female student leaders on campus who have been role models to undergraduates and are now doing a phenomenal job in industry. They are the product of that legacy. Their success knows no bounds.
