April 7, 2003
Contact: Robert Lowery (509-963-1487/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail loweryr@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University alumnus Mark
Pearson, a senior partner in the accounting firm of Ernst & Young, will
present the address to graduates participating in the 19th annual
Central Washington University westside commencement on Sunday, June 15,
at the Highline Community College Skookum Pavilion.
“I think the quality of the education at Central is on par with what
graduates could get anywhere,” he says, “and there really are no limits
to what they can achieve with the education they’ve gotten there.”
Pearson, who received his bachelor’s degree in business administration
in 1973, rates his undergraduate days at CWU as “excellent.”
“I haven’t once found the technical background I was given here to be
lacking,” he adds. “The open class and campus atmosphere here allowed
me to get to know my professors personally rather than just as faces in
front of a classroom. They became -- and continue to be -- friends and
advisors.”
The quality education available at CWU is one of the themes he will
focus on during his address, according to Pearson. Another is the need
for graduates to stay connected and involved in supporting Central.
“The most important theme is the idea of a continuing commitment to
Central, which is something I feel very strongly about,” he states.
Pearson has put that belief into practice as an active member of the
CWU Associates and as a member of the CWU Foundation board of directors.
Pearson began his public accounting career in 1973 in Ernst & Young’s
Seattle office after graduating from Central. He is the firm’s
director of Assurance and Advisory Business Services (AABS) Standards
and Methodology. In that role, he is responsible for the company’s
technical auditing guidance and its Global Audit Methodology.
From July 1983 through June 1985, Pearson served as a Practice Fellow
at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), where he helped
develop accounting guidance on a variety of issues.
While at FASB, he was also responsible for monitoring developments in
the financial services industry and working closely with the related
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants committees and
industry trade groups, the Securities Exchange Commission and the FASB
Emerging Issues Task Force.
Pearson has also authored and co-authored a number of articles on
accounting topics for professional and academic journals.
Pearson is a member of the board of the American Cancer Society and
spends time hunting and fishing – which he describes as “bad habits”
that he picked up at CWU – and golfing. A native of Olympia, he and
his wife, Cindy, have two adult children.
Ironically, Pearson admitted to skipping his CWU commencement 30 years
ago.
“I had a job, a pregnant wife and a burning desire to get to the
process of making a living as soon as possible,” he admits.
An estimated 250 graduates from CWU’s Lynnwood, SeaTac and Steilacoom
centers, along with friends and family members, will hear Pearson’s
address. Those centers are designed primarily to serve students whose
professional or family obligations prevent them from leaving their
communities.
Bachelor’s degree programs are also offered at university centers in
Wenatchee, Moses Lake and Yakima. More than 20 percent of CWU’s
graduates now earn their degrees at university centers.
