John S. Rush

Associate Professor
Department of Economics and Business

Education: Western Illinois University, B.S. 1979; M. Acct. 1984 

Courses: Principles of Accounting; Cost Accounting; Intermediate Accounting; Governmental Accounting; Auditing; Income Tax Accounting; Senior Seminar

Certifications: Certified Public Accountant 1986; Certified Management Accountant 1996; Certified Financial Manager 2005

Accounting may seem like a strange occupation for someone who actively avoided math courses in college but it makes perfect sense to Professor John S. Rush.

"I shied away from anything that had to do with higher math—equations, graphs, numbers theory," says Rush. "It was too abstract. Accounting, on the other hand, appealed to the logical thinker in me. Accounting is about solving problems with a purpose and I loved the challenge."

In order to challenge his students, Rush employs active learning techniques. Rather than delivering a formal lecture, he introduces a concept, tosses out a problem and lets the students figure out how to solve it—sometimes individually and sometimes in groups.

"When I was in college, my professors would lecture the entire class period and maybe, maybe give a demonstration," Rush says. "To me, that's not teaching. Teaching is not a spectator sport. Teaching is when the students are involved in the learning. I believe it's the best way to sharpen their analytical skills and make concepts stick."

Rush also likes to make his course material relevant by explaining how accounting concepts are connected to students' every day lives. For example, if loans are the subject matter, Rush connects it to the mortgage on the family home.

"If I can find a way to make the material understandable outside the classroom then I've succeeded inside the classroom," he says.

Before joining Illinois College in 1998, Rush taught accounting at Brewton-Parker College in Mt. Vernon, GA and at Graceland College in Lamoni, IA.  Prior to that, he worked as an auditor for the auditor general and city of Mesa in Arizona. Rush audited state governmental agencies, colleges, universities, and city and county school districts. He enjoyed the work but felt the tug of teaching.

"My father was a college professor and my mother was an elementary school teacher," Rush says. "It was only a matter of time before I decided to give it a try and it was a good fit."

Rush has earned CPA, CMA and CFM certificates and he is a member of several professional accounting organizations. He often takes students with him to meetings where they can see how sessions are organized and can learn to network. He also revived the college's Students in Free Enterprise chapter, which encourages students to engage in community-based service projects. One year, his students taught a class of 5th graders the basic ideas behind free market economics. The 5th graders then applied that knowledge to set up a caramel apple stand at the Illinois College homecoming game. The stand turned a profit.

"It's a fun way to build knowledge and confidence at the same time," says Rush.

 

   

 

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