Accounting Professor Kris Allee Named Faculty Director of Walton Honors Program

Dr. Kris Allee, professor of accounting and Doyle Z. Williams Chair in Professional Accounting in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, was recently named faculty director of the Walton Honors Program.

In this leadership role, Allee will work with faculty across all Walton College majors, building on his years of teaching and mentoring honors students. He will continue in his faculty role in the William Dillard Department of Accounting while serving as faculty director.

"I'm honored and excited to serve as faculty director of the Walton Honors Program," Allee said. "Having taught more than 1,300 students in Honors Accounting, I have seen firsthand the curiosity, ambition and energy these students bring to Walton College. I look forward to continuing to build an honors experience that challenges students, connects them with faculty and one another, and helps them see how what they learn can make a difference in their careers and communities."

Allee has taught Honors Accounting for years, chaired multiple honors theses and was recognized in 2025 with a Distinguished Research and Teaching Faculty Award from the U of A Honors College. His work with honors students has included guiding research on topics ranging from cybersecurity in accounting and corporate social responsibility to business process automation and underwriting.

As faculty director, Allee will focus in part on strengthening faculty engagement with the program. That includes helping more faculty become involved by teaching honors colloquia, mentoring students through honors theses and finding other ways to contribute to the honors experience.

The Walton Honors Program serves high-achieving business students through small classes, applied learning experiences and close interaction with faculty. Students complete honors coursework, upper-level colloquia and a thesis or other research-based project under faculty leadership.

Allee said he wants to continue building an honors experience that both challenges students and gives them the support to succeed.

Allee earned his Ph.D. in accounting from Indiana University and his bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting from Brigham Young University. Before joining the U of A, he held faculty positions at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Michigan State University and worked as an associate economist with the Federal Reserve.