written by special contributor, Lance Fleming
Dr. John Neill took a most circuitous route to a 40-year career teaching accounting and finance at three universities, including spending the last 24 years at ACU.
When Neill retires at the end of the 2023-24 school year, he will leave a large hole to fill in COBA. While not as gregarious as longtime colleague Bill Fowler – also retiring at the end of the school year after 40 years of service to ACU – Neill’s steady hand, wise words, and unwavering loyalty to the mission of ACU and COBA will be missed.
But had it not been for a simple twist of fate while he was a student at ACU, Neill might never have gotten into teaching, much less accounting and finance.
Neill – who lived in Abilene as a child before moving away and returning – graduated from Cooper High School in 1977. He enrolled at ACU and graduated in 1980, then worked for Pennzoil in Houston before returning to ACU to study for a master’s degree in Religious Studies.
While at ACU, he was asked to serve as an adjunct professor for an accounting class while working on his graduate degree. Surprising himself, he fell in love with the classroom. So much so that when he finished his master’s in 1984, he took off for Gainesville, Florida, where he earned his PhD in accounting from the University of Florida in 1990.
Leaving the corporate world behind and turning his focus to teaching, Neill made stops at Florida State University and Chapman University (Orange Country, California) before returning to ACU in 2000, where he finished his career.
“I never really wanted to be a preacher, but I wanted to be a minister of some sort,” Neill recalled. “Maybe it’s sort of the same mentality of teaching and preaching, but I’m not sure about that. I taught some as a doctoral student at the University of Florida, and then my first job was at Florida State University. And as I went along, I realized how much I enjoyed being in the classroom.
“After being at Florida State, I went to Chapman University, a private school without the Christian
emphasis,” he said. “I liked the small, private nature of the school, but I missed the emphasis on a Christian education. When I had the opportunity to come back home and back to ACU, I found some of everything I wanted.”
The relationships with students and colleagues, and the opportunity to work in an environment that matched his beliefs kept Neill at ACU when he could have gone to other universities or numerous jobs in the private sector.
“One of the main reasons I stayed at ACU is the mission,” he said. “I believe what we do and how we do it is important. The other reason is the colleagues I’ve worked with over the years. I enjoy the people I work with in our department. When I went to school at ACU and began working here, people always asked why I stayed, and I always said it was because of the people and relationships.”
He was also working for a university that has built one of the top business schools in the country and was the recipient of a game-changing $29 million gift from the Bill and Janie Dukes estate last year that will revolutionize COBA in countless ways. Before that gift, though, Neill believed the business students graduating from ACU were as good as those graduating from any other school in the country.
“I’ve had some partners in some of the top accounting firms in the country come to campus and tell me, ‘The students here (at ACU) are really good, but they don’t think they’re as good as they are,’ “ Neill said. “Sometimes our students might be intimidated because they work with a bunch of people who went to Texas or Texas A&M or SMU or wherever, but they shouldn’t feel that way because they have been well-prepared.
“We have a good reputation of having prepared students who work hard, and we’re proud of that,” he said. “I want our students to realize that they are getting a quality education, but the most important thing is the Christian ideals they’re being taught – along with finance or accounting or whatever it might be – don’t stop when they leave here. We all want them to find a church home wherever they are, be part of the community, and have a work-life balance. Work is important, but it can’t be their entire life.”
Neill said he would miss the chance to talk to students and give that kind of advice, along with words of wisdom on what ACU can offer students.
“I’ve never taught freshmen; the classes I teach are traditionally a second-semester junior and a senior-level class,” Neill said. “But when I was department chair, I met with the first-year students in a new student orientation setting. One of the main things I always told him was they would get a fresh start here. A person who was the most popular in high school might not be that here. Conversely, someone with a bad reputation could start over here. Or if a student’s grades weren’t good in high school, they can turn them around here. I wanted to ensure they understood they had a fresh start here.”
It was that style that stuck out to Dr. Brad Crisp (‘93), the Dean of COBA when thinking about Neill and his impact on the students who have gone through the Mabee Business Building.
“John Neill is a genuine, personable guy with a sneaky sense of humor,” Crisp said. “He has done an excellent job for us and his students. I remember his presence, and I think the students appreciated him. He’s somebody who is one of those people at the center of living out the commitment we have for our students.”
Neill’s relationships with students and colleagues were changed in 2020 by COVID, the global pandemic that thrust millions into online education, whether they were ready for it or not. It also pushed Neill to begin thinking about his retirement, perhaps sooner than he had planned.
“Teaching during COVID was very tough,” Neill said. “When we came back, everyone was socially distanced, so it was hard to get to know students. I taught some students who never saw me without a mask, so they probably never really knew who I was. It was difficult to reach students. I taught some classes I didn’t get to know well and didn’t like that.”
That desire and ability to relate to students and colleagues has always stood out about Neill, said Dr. David
Perkins, the Chairman of the Accounting Department. Perkins first met Neill when the former was a doctoral student at Texas A&M. The chairman of the Accounting Department at A&M asked him to take a prospective faculty member to dinner, mainly because he was a member of the Church of Christ, as was the prospective faculty member, who happened to be John Neill.
Neill didn’t take the job at Texas A&M, but years later Perkins was hired at ACU and the two began a longtime relationship as friends and colleagues.
“Although John’s career took a different path, we eventually became colleagues teaching accounting at ACU,” Perkins said. “John is recognized as an excellent teacher, scholar, and a humble colleague and friend. He has been very gracious in helping me transition into the role of department chair when he decided to step down after leading the department for several years. John will be difficult to replace. We have been blessed to have him serve ACU, and it’s been an honor to call him a colleague and friend.”
A lifelong learner and teacher, Neill plans to do plenty of learning in the days immediately following his final day at ACU. He and his wife are taking a month-long trip to Japan, a vacation canceled in 2020 because of COVID.
“I love to travel, and you can always learn something, no matter where you go,” Neill said. “Whether you get in a car and drive for three hours or get on a plane or ship and go somewhere across the world, you can learn something about it. We’ll have the chance to experience a different culture, and I want to see what that’s like. I want to see it. To experience it. To keep growing and learning.”