Broad Participation Planned
For Gaertner Investiture

James F. Gaertner 12th President of Sam Houston State University

Other participants will include members of the Alabama-Coushatta Tribal Council, descendants of General Sam Houston, descendants of the university's past presidents, and SHSU distinguished alumni.

The ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. in Johnson Coliseum, with a reception to follow in the nearby Health and Kinesiology Building. Both activities are free and open to the public.

Both the processional and recessional will feature the SHSU Symphony Orchestra, the Wind Ensemble, and the Symphonic Band. Representatives from more than 30 educational institutions, 350 SHSU faculty members, 100 student organizations and 40 staff representatives will march into the coliseum in academic regalia.

Congratulatory greetings will be given by Stephen A. Sargent, president of the SHSU Student Government Association; Frank E. Parker, representing the SHSU staff; William P. Fleming, representing the faculty; Richard A. Hartley, president of the Alumni Advisory Board; William P. Green, Huntsville mayor; and U. S. Congressman Jim Turner.

Special music will be provided by the Huntsville Men's Choir, Huntsville Church Choirs, Hilltop Lakes Chapel Choir, SHSU choirs, and the SHSU Orchestra, Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band.

Dionicio "Don" Flores, chairman of the university's board of regents, will conduct the installation of Gaertner, who was named to the position in June 2001 and who took over for President Emeritus Bobby K. Marks in August.

"We believe this will be a spectacular and moving ceremony," said James D. Gilmore, dean emeritus and chairman of the investiture planning committee. "We invite all in the Sam Houston State University family and all of our friends to come and help celebrate this special milestone in the history of this great university."

Classes will be dismissed from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. to allow faculty, staff and students to participate.

For those who cannot attend personally, the event will be streamed live on the Internet, for possible viewing throughout the world, and will be broadcast live on KSHU campus radio (90.5). To access the live Web telecast, go to the Investiture Page on the SHSU Website.

Gaertner came to Sam Houston State University as a student, from Yoakum, earning his bachelor's degree in business administration in 1965 and his master's degree in business administration in 1970. He is also a certified public accountant.

He began his career on the audit staff of KPMG Peat Marwick in Houston, and then served as controller for the Tex Tan Welhausen Division of the Tandy Corporation, from 1968 to 1973. He has been on the board of directors of Tandy Brands Accessories, Inc. since 1990, and in 1997 was elected chairman of the board.

In November 1999, Forbes magazine listed Tandy Brands as one of the 200 best small companies in the United States.

While studying for his doctorate at Texas A&M University, he taught there from September 1973 to August 1976.

After earning his doctorate in 1977, Gaertner spent seven years as an assistant and associate professor at the University of Notre Dame, including a year as director of the Notre Dame London MBA program.

He returned to Texas to become professor and director of the Division of Accounting and Information Systems at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) and spent 13 of his 18 years at UTSA as dean of the College of Business.

During his time at UTSA, he also served as interim provost and vice president for academic affairs and was one of four finalists for the presidency of UTSA in 1999.

His publications include more than 35 articles, books, book reviews and refereed presentations. He has given more than 100 lectures in the United States, England, China, Canada and Mexico and has presented executive education courses on various topics including Use of Financial Data in Decision Making, Zero-Based Budgeting and CPA Review.

He has also been active in community and professional service, including serving as president of the Carver Academy of San Antonio Board of Directors, as chairman of the board of Business Careers High School in San Antonio for two terms, on the executive committee of the board of directors of Junior Achievement of South Texas for three terms, and as a Junior Achievement fifth grade classroom volunteer for five years.

He served as president of the Southwestern Business Deans Association in 1994-'95, was editor of The Academy of Accounting Historians monograph series from 1981-'86, was a witness before the United States Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on copyright legislation in 1984, and was a Coopers & Lybrand Research Fellow at the University of Notre Dame in 1978-'79.

Gaertner and his wife, Nancy, who is also an SHSU alumnus, have a son, two daughters and two grandchildren.

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SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
Feb. 15, 2002
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