Loyola Marymount Receives Endowment For Accounting Ethics Courses

Loyola Marymount University alumnus, R. Chad Dreier, and his wife, Ginni, have pledged $3.5 million to LMU for purposes of endowing a program of accounting ethics courses. Mr. Drier is chairman of the LMU board of trustees as well as president, chairman, and chief executive officer of the California-based Ryland Group, one of the nation's largest homebuilders and mortgage lenders.

"We are at a crossroads in the accounting profession from an ethical standpoint," Mr. Drier said. "The sheer number of accounting abuses tells us that something more is needed."

Students participating in the ethics courses will learn how to handle ethical questions and will be taught to look beyond the bottom line in corporate financial reporting. "Integrity is the first requirement of success," Mr. Drier said. "We need to teach our students a sense of moral obligation."

With a goal of strengthening the positive influence accountants can have in American business, the R. Chad Dreier Chair in Accounting will provide students with the tools to confront the challenges posed by ethical issues in today's business world.