Joseph B. O’Donnell, PhD Associate Professor
Chair of the Accounting Department
B.A., Accounting – University of Notre Dame M.B.A.;
Ph.D. in Management Information Systems—State University of NY at Buffalo
Dr. O’Donnell is currently an associate professor specializing in the area of accounting information systems. He played a central role in designing the College’s innovative Accounting Information Systems program. Professor O’Donnell is the recipient of the Wehle School of Business 2006 Outstanding Undergraduate Professor Award.
Prior to entering the academic world, Dr. O’Donnell was a manager with Price Waterhouse, now known as PricewaterhouseCoopers. As manager of the Upstate New York Auditing Computerized Information System (ACIS) practice for the international accounting firm, he supervised the overall development of the ACIS consulting practice, with clients in the financial services, manufacturing, health care, utilities, and government contracting fields.
An active researcher, Dr. O’Donnell has authored ten articles, three book chapters and presented papers at fifteen academic and professional conferences. His current research interests include Information Technology Auditing, Automated Fraud Detection, Diffusion of Innovation, Accounting Information Systems Education and E-business
Dr. O’Donnell is the Director of the Graduate Accounting Programs. He also serves as the faculty advisor to the Accounting Information Systems Committee of the Canisius College Council on Accountancy. Professor O’Donnell has also served as the Faculty Moderator of the Accounting Society, a member of the Canisius College Faculty Senate, and a faculty representative on the Canisius College Budget Committee.
Dr. O’Donnell is actively involved with professional and community organizations. He is the Chair of the Buffalo Chapter of the New York State Society’s High School Outreach Program and a member of the New York State Society of CPAs Technology Assurance Committee. Dr. O’Donnell also serves on the Board of Directors of the Boys and Girls Club of East Aurora. He was the recipient of the 2007 Boys and Girls Club of East Aurora Board Member of the Year Award.
Dr. O’Donnell is a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Information Systems Auditor. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, New York State Society of Public Accountants, and the Information Systems Audit Control Association.
Edward J. Gress, PhDProfessor of Accounting
BBA; MBA — American University of Beirut
PhD, Accounting — University of Arizona
Dr. Gress has been honored numerous times for his highly effective teaching style. The college’s MBA students awarded him the Donald E. Calvert Outstanding Professor Award in both 1983 and 1986, and the Canisius College Alumni Association matched the honor in 1995 by naming him the Kenneth L. Koessler Distinguished Professor. The Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge presented him with the George Washington Honor Medal for excellence in teaching the free enterprise system through “Specialized Investment Analysis,” a course he developed for the Canisius College MBA Program. He designed both the college’s MBA in Professional Accounting and MBA in Accounting programs. Dr. Gress is currently the Director of the Graduate Accounting Programs and the TAG Center for Business Research.
Long after they have graduated, many accounting majors continue to consult Dr. Gress for direction in their careers. His strong ties with the business community, both in the U.S. and the Middle East, have led to internships and permanent employment opportunities for students and alumni alike. As chairman of the Accounting Department, he has been instrumental in raising scholarship funds for accounting majors.
Internationally renowned in the field of tax accounting, Dr. Gress wrote a series of trademark laws and tax guides for individual Arab countries. He is the author of Introductory Financial Accounting and Basic Accounting and Statistics for Management, both published by the American University in Cairo, and has presented papers at scholarly conferences around the world.
Dr. Gress has developed and conducted executive development and training seminars for a number of major national and international banks, written corporate policy manuals, negotiated joint venture agreements, and in similar capacities served as a consultant to business and industry. He also served as an advisor during the development of the Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Canada. He was recognized as the Accountant of the Year in Western New York in 1992.
Robert R. Davis, PhDAssociate Professor of Accounting
BS, Accounting — Canisius College
MA, Accounting — The Ohio State University
PhD, Accounting — State University of New York at Buffalo
As a consultant and tax accountant for corporations and partnerships, Dr. Davis has developed a keen understanding of our ever-changing, often-confusing tax laws. His students benefit from that expertise and from his previous professional experience as an auditor and accountant.
The author of articles published in Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory and The CPA Journal, he also served as a consultant on revisions to the seventh edition of Modern Auditing and the third edition of Auditing: Integrated Concepts and Procedures, both published by John Wiley & Co. He is currently at work on “E.T. — Stay Home,” a principles of accounting practice case, forthcoming in The Timeliness and Information Content of Audit Qualifications.
Dr. Davis is a member of the American Accounting Association, the American Institute of CPA’s, and the New York State Society of CPA’s, and serves on the Executive Committee of the Canisius College Council on Accountancy. In the community, he is treasurer and director of the Housing Development Corporation of Western New York and Rental Assistance Corporation of Buffalo.
In 2008, Dr. Davis was recognized as the Outstanding Accountant in Western New York at the 52nd annual Canisius College Accounting Society Banquet.
George F. Kermis, PhDAssociate Professor of Accounting
BS, Accounting — Canisius College
MBA; PhD, Accounting — Syracuse University
Dr. Kermis is known for setting high standards for his students – the same standards by which they will be judged in the professional world. Alumni often return to campus to thank him for his early influence on the development of their professional demeanor. His concern for the welfare of his students is evidenced by his selection in 1993 as the Kenneth L. Koessler Outstanding Professor, an honor accorded by the Canisius College Alumni Association for distinction in teaching, scholarship, and service. In 1993 he was recognized with the Donald E. Calvert Award as the Outstanding Professor in the college’s MBA program.
Businesses and professional organizations often call upon Dr. Kermis as a presenter for conferences and workshops. He has addressed such topics as corporate accounting procedures, budgetary matters, financial issues, and corporate information systems for General Electric, the American Society for Training and Development, the Public Relations Society of America, and the Decision Sciences Institute, among other companies and organizations.
Dr. Kermis serves on the Student Recruitment Committee of the Canisius College Council on Accountancy and on the college’s Career Planning and Job Placement Advisory Council. He is a trustee of Nardin Academy in Buffalo.
Eugene O’Connor, J.D.
Associate Professor of Business Law
BS — University of Notre Dame
JD — University of Buffalo School of Law
A practicing attorney, O’Connor teaches business and commercial law at Canisius. Early in his legal career, he served as assistant U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, prosecuting criminal cases for the FBI, Secret Service, Immigration Service, and other government agencies. Today he specializes in sports law, pursuing research on such issues as whether NFL and USFL eligibility rules for college athletes violate antitrust laws.
O’Connor designed several courses offered at Canisius: “Business Law,” required for accounting majors; “CPA Law,” for senior accounting majors; “Corporate Taxation;” “Mergers & Acquisitions;” “Sports Law;” and two MBA courses, “Environmental and Employment Law” and “Negotiation Theory and Technique.”
O’Connor is a member of both the Erie County and American Bar Associations. Among other appointments, he serves on the Raichle Law Committee, the Council on Accountancy, and the Wehle School of Business Long-Range Planning Committee at Canisius College. Former legal advisor to the American Football Coaches Association, he is currently legal advisor to the Canisius College Athletic Department and special legal advisor to the college’s executive vice president for academic affairs.
Ian Redpath, JD, LLMAssociate Professor
BLS, Psychology and Political Science — Hillsdale College
JD (Honors) — University of Detroit School of Law
LLM, specialty in Tax Law — University of Wisconsin
Dr. Redpath combines the legal expertise of an attorney with the business acumen of a management consultant. An authority in tax law, he has conducted tax-training sessions for Eastman Kodak’s National and International Tax Department as well as continuing-education tax seminars for 26 state CPA societies.
His extensive research in the taxation field has resulted in numerous articles published in scholarly journals. In 1993 he was invited to Moscow as a visiting professor at the All-Russian Academy. He returned to Moscow in 2000 to discuss “Attracting Western Investment to Emerging Economies” and “Tax Reform to Encourage Business Development” as a visiting professor at the Moscow State Institute of International Economics. He has presented papers at conferences and conducted seminars for various organizations across the U.S., including the National Football League.
Dr. Redpath developed several courses offered at Canisius: “Taxation and Financial Planning;” the MBA course “Legal Environment;” and both undergraduate and graduate courses in basic and advanced taxation. Among other responsibilities, he has served as moderator of the college’s Accounting Society and as a member of the College Honors Committee, the Wehle School of Business Long-Range Planning Committee, the Accountancy Council Tax Committee, and the Accountancy Council Student Recruitment Committee.