Lisa Daniels-Smith

ELKINS — Davis & Elkins College Assistant Professor of Accounting Lisa Daniels-Smith has been honored by the West Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants as the Outstanding Accounting Educator of the Year. She received the award at the organization’s annual Committee Day Luncheon.

Established in 1989, the award recognizes an educator who is distinguished for excellence in classroom teaching and motivating students. This is the first time a Davis & Elkins College faculty member has been selected for the honor. Daniels-Smith was nominated by alumna Mia Gresak, CPA, and by Chair of the D&E Division of Business and Entrepreneurship Dr. Carol Carter.

“I am honored that Mia and Dr. Carter nominated me for this award,” Daniels-Smith said. “Additionally, I am thrilled that the WVSCPAs committee chose me as the recipient. I have worked in the accounting profession for over 20 years and in the teaching profession for 11 years. To me, this award combines my professional knowledge as a CPA with my love of teaching. It is exciting to watch our students become successful in their chosen profession, and Mia is one of my first graduates from Davis & Elkins College. Dr. Carter is always supportive of my ideas and I could not have achieved my goals without her guidance. I feel privileged to receive this award as a D&E faculty member.”

In her letter to the nominating committee, Gresak describes Daniels-Smith as a professor who goes above and beyond by bringing real-life scenarios and materials into the minds of her students, and serving as a mentor well beyond their college career.

“These classroom experiences have benefitted me in ways I would never have imagined,” Gresak wrote. “I believe I was able to be acclimated to public accounting while relating my studies and her teachings to my comparable first-year job experiences.”

Carter described Daniels-Smith as an extraordinary educator who in the last five years has transformed the College’s accounting program and increased the number of accounting majors.

Since joining the Davis & Elkins College faculty in 2012, Daniels-Smith has developed a broader accounting curriculum to include courses such as Ethics, Intermediate III and Income Tax II. To further help her students excel, she revived the College’s accounting club and ensures that students have the most up-to-date study materials for the CPA exam. In 2017, she was selected for the Lois Latham Teaching Excellence Award.

In addition to her work as an educator, Daniels-Smith is the owner of Accounting Solutions, LLC, serves as chair of the Randolph County Commission Audit Committee, and is a member of the National Railway Historical Society Washington, DC Chapter Audit Committee; Randolph Technical Center Advisory Council for Business Education; Accounting Professional Research Panel; West Virginia Society of CPAs and AICPA, among other professional organizations.

Daniels-Smith is the former treasurer for the city of Elkins, has taught multiple courses at Fairmont State University and was a corporate officer for Schleer Builders, Inc. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration and Accounting from Fairmont State University and a Master of Accountancy from Stetson University.