Raquel Alexander Named Next Associate Dean of the Williams School
Raquel Alexander, associate professor of accounting at Washington and Lee University’s Williams School of Commerce, Economics, and Politics, has been named the next associate dean of the Williams School.
Alexander will succeed Robert Straughan, who will assume his role as dean of the Williams School on July 1. “Raquel brings a great deal to the position including numerous teaching awards, a strong record of scholarship, leadership and service to both W&L and the accounting profession, and national recognition for innovative service learning activities,” Straughan said about her appointment.
Alexander worked for KPMG as a tax consultant in Dallas, Texas and Phoenix, Arizona, before earning her Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin. She joined the faculty at W&L—where she teaches taxation and the business of art—in 2012.
She has consulted or provided executive education to a number of firms and investment professionals around the country and served on the advisory council for three state treasurers. She is currently the treasurer and trustee for the American Taxation Association.
Alexander’s research focuses on tax policy related to personal savings and corporate taxation and has been published in top journals such as the Journal of the American Taxation Association, Behavioral Research in Accounting and the Journal of Law and Politics. She has written for The New York Times and her research has been cited in such media outlets as The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Business Week and CNBC. Her work has led to reform in the college savings industry, and has been used by policy makers and regulators at the SEC, the MSRB, FINRA and the White House.
