Tom Walker (Class of ’78), former managing partner of Deloitte’s Nashville office, is the inaugural holder of the Joey A. Jacobs Chair of Excellence in Accounting, which is sponsored by veteran health care executive and MTSU Board of Trustees member Joey Jacobs.

Walker, a licensed CPA who retired from Deloitte & Touche LLPlast year, will serve as a “professor of practice,” a nontenure-track position available to those who have distinguished themselves by expertise, achievements and reputation over a sustained period in an area of practice or discipline.

Walker brings 40 years of experience serving a variety of clientele from early-stage venture-backed and private equity-owned companies to large, complex international companies primarily in the health care and retail industries. He’s also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Tennessee Society of Certified Public Accountants.

As the Jacobs Chair, Walker plans to actively engage the professional and business community, with a focus on healthcare, to promote MTSU’s program; engage in innovative and effective teaching, with a long-term goal to develop a recognized healthcare finance/accounting/auditing school of excellence; collaborate with colleagues to enhance accounting and auditing course offerings; and organize seminars and workshops for the professional community.

Jennings A. Jones College of Business holds two accreditations from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business — AACSB International. In 2016, the college’s Business and Accounting programs received reaffirmation of their AACSB accreditations. Only 189 collegiate business schools out of approximately 13,500 worldwide have AACSB accreditation for both Business and Accounting.