Filling dad’s shoes

Spears accounting instructor Rachel Cox inspired to follow her father’s lofty lead

by Emily Long

When Rachel Cox started teaching at Oklahoma State University Spears School of Business, she knew who her guiding muse would be.

Cox is the daughter of Dr. Don Herrmann, who died in May 2018 after a 14-month battle with brain cancer. When he was diagnosed in March of 2017, Herrmann stopped teaching while some colleagues took over his classes.

“We knew he probably didn’t have that long left to live,” Cox said. “A position opened up in the Spears School of Business for an instructor of professional practice and I applied, hoping to be able to spend more time with my dad.”

Cox accepted the position and began teaching the courses Herrmann previously taught. But it didn’t end there.

“Fall of 2017 was sweet for me,” Cox said. “My dad was still alive and even while going through five different brain surgeries, he helped me prep my classes. He taught me what it means to be a great instructor, and it was just a really sweet time with him.”

FILLING HIS SHOES

Cox continued to teach Herrmann’s courses in the spring 2018 semester before he died during finals week in May 2018. Since then, she has found a whole new passion in the courses she teaches — and she’s added two courses to the business school, Foundational Accounting Skills and Ethical Issues in Accounting.

“When I am flipping through his notes and finding what worked for him, I think about ‘OK, how would Dr. Don — as he liked to call himself — explain this?’” she said. “It’s really important for me, especially since he passed away, to continue his legacy.”

Dr. Don left some big shoes to fill.

Herrmann was selected as the first Professor of the Decade by the Spears School of Business in March 2018. The award recognized his ongoing dedication to and passion for student success, requiring the recipient to possess a certain unquenchable fire that inspires students to excel inside and outside the classroom.

He earned his bachelor’s degree from John Brown University in Arkansas in 1985, his master’s from Kansas State University in 1987 and his doctorate from OSU in 1995. He began teaching at OSU in 2005.

As a member of the OSU School of Accounting faculty, he was the Arthur Andersen Professor of Accounting from 2007 to 2010, head of the School of Accounting from 2010-2011 and was named the Gellein/Deloitte & Touche Professor in 2011.

“A lot of his students keep coming back and saying he was the best professor they ever had,” Cox said. “And if I could only live up to a fraction of what he was able to accomplish during his time at OSU, I would be doing him a huge favor. It’s been a huge blessing and honor to be able to come back and teach with the accounting faculty here.”

FOND MEMORIES

Herrmann’s former students do remember him fondly.

“At the time I took his intermediate course, I didn’t even like accounting,” one former student said. “However, each day I looked forward to going to class because I enjoyed hearing from Dr. Don. Sometimes he would even stop in the middle of class to tell a story of his work experience that captured the class’s attention again. He’s easily one of my favorite teachers, both inside and outside the classroom. He has a certain spirit about him that is increasingly encouraging.”

Another student offered: “He inspired me to become an accountant. He’ll always be the best professor at Oklahoma State University.”

While Herrmann took his job at OSU seriously, he always made time for his family — wife, Mary, and children Rachel, David, Nathan and Micah.

“My dad was a kid at heart,” Cox said. “He loved us. He always took his job very seriously and was very successful. He was serious about making a difference in the world of accounting, but at the same time he always had time for us — especially during my time in college.”

Cox earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from OSU in 2012.

“I chose to go to OSU because he was here. We had a close bond,” she said. “We used to jog around Boomer Lake together. He was very into fitness, and I completed a marathon in college because he motivated me when I didn’t want to get out there and run.”

A LIGHT IN LUCAS

Cox found out she was expecting her first child shortly before her dad’s third surgery. She describes rushing into his office and telling him before anyone else.

“He was excited and then his face got sad and he said, ‘I hope your baby grows faster than my tumor’ — and it did,” Cox said.

Herrmann saw Cox through seven months of her pregnancy and knew the baby was a boy before she revealed the gender. Cox named the child Lucas, meaning light.

“His birth was a real light for my family after my dad passed away,” she said. “He gave us a new light and direction to point toward.”

Cox sees her dad in Lucas.

“Lucas has my dad’s face shape and there are several little things Lucas does that remind me of my dad. He is trying solid foods right now and he doesn’t want to be fed, he wants to do it himself. He has the same grit and determination that my dad had.”

Cox described Herrmann as fast. Whether it was figuring out the right answer in accounting or typing something up, he always seemed like he was one step ahead of everyone.

But above all else, she described him as kind.

“I have received a few letters since he passed away from previous students who said, ‘Your dad reached out to me when no one else would,’” Cox said. “He really had a heart for the student who was overlooked or didn’t find a niche in college. He would take them under his wing and really wanted them to succeed.”

TEXTBOOK PATHWAY

It seems as though Herrmann also left a parting gift to help his daughter in her journey. The textbook the School of Accounting once used for its core courses was co-authored by Herrmann, making it even more special for Cox.

“When I would be prepping my classes or reading over the chapter getting ready for the lecture, I could just hear my dad’s voice through the words,” she said. “There is one spot in the book where he talks about himself in third person, and I always like that. Or I would be reading, and I’m like, ‘Oh, he thought that was funny,’ and that was his personality.”

Cox said the biggest takeaway she has from her dad is to develop the power of personal that the Spears School of Business lives by and to get to know students individually.

“He would always be quick to help students who tried their best in his class and write them a recommendation letter or help them be successful in any way he could,” she said. “I think that advice really resonated with me. I have a responsibility to our students here and to see them be successful, too. He had a heart for students, and I hope I can have a similar heart as well.”