Richard L. Townsend joined the faculty of the University of Tennessee in 1969. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a Certified Public Accountant and his area of interest is financial reporting and disclosure. He serves as the director of the Master of Accountancy program. Professor Townsend is a frequent discussion leader in continuing education courses for CPAs in the southeast, as well as the co-author of a continuing education course for the AICPA. In addition to several teaching awards given by the College of Business, Professor Townsend received The University of Tennessee Alumni Outstanding Teaching Awards in 1982 and 2003 and The University of Tennessee's L.R. Hesler Award for Teaching and Service in 2001. In 2003, he received the Outstanding Discussion Leader Award from the Georgia Society of CPAs.