Congratulations go to Assistant Professor of International Accounting, Dr. Shirley Hunter for receiving national recognition for her outstanding dissertation: "The Impact of the Internet on the Market Valuation of Emerging Market Firms: A Longitudinal Study 1991-2001." She was honored at the annual meeting of the American Accounting Association held in San Francisco in August 2005 in San Francisco.

Dr. Hunter received the Outstanding Dissertation Award from the Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies (AIET) Section of the American Accounting Association. Her dissertation examines the impact of Web-based financial reporting for companies listed in emerging market stock exchanges such as India, Russia, and South Africa. Professor Andrew Lymer, Professor at the University of Birmingham, UK and President of the AIET Section said that Dr. Hunter's research makes a significant contribution to the study of new information technologies and how they impact financial reporting.

Texas A&M accounting professor Dr. Murphy Smith chaired Dr. Hunter's dissertation committee. Smith says, "Dr. Hunter is very deserving of special recognition. Her unique professional background, intellectual skills, noteworthy technical competence, and enthusiasm for research make her one of the most exceptional PhD students with whom I've worked in a 28 year career." Dr. Hunter entered Texas A&M's doctoral program in the fall 1999 and completed her dissertation in the summer 2003. She has a Master's degree from the University of Illinois and a Bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Hunter worked in financial management for the United States Agency for International Development for more than 15 years in Africa, the Middle East, and the Caribbean. In addition, Dr. Hunter served as a Peace Corps Volunteer teaching English as a Foreign Language in Niger and Senegal.

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