Professor Christine Noel recently became the new head of the Department of Business at Colorado Mesa University (CMU). She has Bachelor of Science degrees in Accounting from Metro State University Denver and Business Administration from Trident University International.
Noel has been a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) since 2000 and has been teaching at the collegiate level since 1999. She joined the faculty at CMU in 2017. She was appointed to the Colorado State Board of Accountancy, the CPA’s regulatory body, by two governors.
In 2016 she began a small CPA practice with fellow Department of Business professor Travis Boyd. Outside of campus, she enjoys the mountains, particularly hiking or cross-country skiing with her dog, Autumn.
As the new head of the business department, Noel holds several responsibilities including managing approximately sixty faculty and staff, staffing and job searches, conducting performance appraisals, holding departmental meetings, academic scheduling to ensure 150-200 classes a semester are scheduled and staffed, setting the vision for the department and more.
“I very much enjoy working with and connecting with people, and bringing people together for a common purpose,” Noel said. “I’m in a unique position to be able to connect with all the faculty and staff within the department, along with about 1,000 students taking classes in business, along with faculty and staff across campus.”
When asked where she sees the business department five years from now, Noel responded:
“My two primary goals coming into the position are to continue our journey towards full AACSB accreditation (a prestigious status that approximately 25% of all US business schools attain) and to build community, both within the department as well as with businesses in the Grand Valley. Five years from now I anticipate our department being fully AACSB accredited and working toward a longer-term goal of becoming a named school of business. All of our areas are experiencing growth, so I anticipate more business programs coming online in the coming years.”
She advises students and recent graduates “to truly engage in whatever it is you are learning about, and never stop learning. There are always opportunities to learn, grow, and approve,” she said. “Take full advantage of these opportunities.”
