Clemson accounting lecturer named Alumni Master Teacher

Published: April 25, 2011

Students Phillip Westbrook and Lanie Hudson congratulate Mary Ann Prater. image by: Clemson University

CLEMSON — Clemson University students have chosen Mary Ann Prater as the Alumni Master Teacher for 2011.

Prater is a senior lecturer in Clemson’s School of Accountancy and Finance in the College of Business and Behavioral Science.

The Alumni Master Teacher Award for outstanding undergraduate classroom instruction is presented to a faculty member nominated by the student body and selected by the Student Alumni Council. Prater will receive a $2,500 stipend and will be presented with a plaque at Commencement May 13.

“Teaching is not a job for me. I love my students and I love helping them learn. I try to remember that each student has a family behind them who loves them dearly and wants them to succeed,” Prater said. “I still am having trouble believing that I received this award. Being nominated is an honor; winning is beyond belief.”

Prater has been at Clemson since 1983. She teaches intermediate accounting and is a career adviser and an academic adviser. She recently was named the first recipient of the Extraordinary Educator Award presented by the Nu Chapter of Delta Alpha Pi honor society for students with disabilities. Earlier this year she received the Blue Key Honor Society Outstanding Advisor Award. She is a member of Tiger Brotherhood and is past chairwoman of the Women’s Alumni Council.

Prior to teaching at Clemson, Prater, a Clemson alumna, worked as a certified public accountant. Her first experience teaching came while she was working as a consultant for Clemson’s Small Business Development Center and teaching part time.

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