Chance Encounter Leads to Director Position at SDSUs School of Accountancy

By Suzanne Finch

For a young man hoping for a career in the banking industry, Jeff Wang was born in the right place: Shanghai, China. 

Long considered China’s financial and commerce hub, Shanghai is home to some of the world’s most prosperous business institutions, including the Shanghai Stock Exchange which is the largest stock exchange in China and one of the largest in the world.

 Jeff Wang is the director of the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy at San Diego State University’s Fowler College of Business

A Break from a Demanding Job
After Wang, now a professor and director of the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy with SDSU’s Fowler College of Business, graduated from Shanghai International Studies University with an accounting degree, he began his career as a management trainee for Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong. “The job was extremely demanding with very long working hours including workdays every other Saturday,” said Wang. “I was determined to be a banker, but I also needed to catch my breath from the intensive amount of work. So, I decided to apply to a few universities with master of science in finance programs, including the one at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign which has a top ranked program.” 

Wang came to the U.S. in 2005 to pursue an MSA in finance, with plans to resume his career in the banking industry. However, a chance encounter outside the classroom prompted him to change direction and alter his career plans. “After my financial statement analysis class, I happened to run into the professor outside the classroom,” he said. “The professor asked me if I’d consider pursuing a Ph.D. and becoming a professor. I told him ‘no, it’s probably not for me’.”

 Jeff Wang stands next to daughter, Emma, who golfed in the Arizona 2021 Junior World Championship

A Change of Heart
But Wang’s professor wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. “I’m sure you’d make a great professor,” he told Wang. “Plus, the Ph.D. program offers free tuition and a hefty stipend. Why don’t you just try it for a year to see if you like it.” After Wang told his professor he’d “think about it,” the professor said, “the recruiting committee members are in their offices right now — if you have some time, you could interview with them this afternoon.”  

With his afternoon free and nothing to lose, Wang decided to interview with each of the professors on the recruiting committee for 30 minutes that day. “They ended up persuading me to apply to the Ph.D. program in accounting,” said Wang. “A year later, I realized that teaching and research were my true passion and I decided to re-think my career and pursue a life of academia.” 

After Wang earned his Ph.D. from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2014, he spent a year working as the co-founder of a medical device company before launching his academic career. But soon after his foray into entrepreneurship, he was sure that the life of a college professor was his true calling and he applied for an opening at SDSU because it offered “a balanced portfolio of teaching research and  San Diego was a great place to raise kids,” he said. “After interviewing with nearly all of SDSU’s accounting faculty, I knew right away that SDSU was the right place to work.”

Wang’s daughter, Emma, has competed in the Tiffany Joh Junior Tournament, named for local golf pro, Tiffany Joh. Joh is the daughter of SDSU accounting professor emeritus, Gun-Ho Joh.

Using His Role to Prepare Students for Their Careers
Wang entered the Fowler College of Business as an assistant accounting professor in 2015 and he earned a promotion and tenure in 2021. He was named the William E. Cole Director of the Charles W. Lamden School of Accountancy in the spring of 2022. 

Though his original career choice as a banker is now in his rear-view mirror, Wang is looking ahead to visualize the changes and trends in the accounting industry to ensure students’ career success. “The field of accounting is gearing up for a much more data analytics and visualization driven environment, so I plan to assist our faculty in integrating data analytics applications into all classes in our undergraduate and graduate programs,” he said. “This will prepare our students for the job market and make them ‘future-proof’ which is particularly important in this post-pandemic era.”