Iowa Ledger (2022) - Tippie College of Business

Shea Fowler (BBA94) didn’t know much about accounting when he started at the University
of Iowa in the early 1990s. He thought he wanted to be a doctor, and even pursued EMT
training after witnessing his grandfather suffer a fatal heart attack at a family Thanksgiving
gathering. But when his father, Joe Fowler (MBA92), enrolled in Tippie’s Executive MBA
program to boost his career, business suddenly became a visible career path.
Fowler grew up in Iowa City, where
his father was head of parking and
transportation for the city. He lived at
home for several years during college, and
saw his father working on case studies
and reading textbooks. Although Fowler
was already intrigued by emergency
medicine, he also became interested in
entrepreneurship and dreamed of owning
a restaurant, which lead him to the
business school.
“Once I got to Tippie, I enjoyed what I
was studying and learning,” he says. “My
accounting courses were some of the
first to challenge me, and as I got more
immersed, I realized the subject clicked
with my brain. Accounting quickly became
my passion–I felt like I had found myself,
my talent.”
Still focused on medicine
Today, Fowler is Health Services
Assurance Practice partner and leader of
the Greater Chicago Healthcare Practice
for PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chicago,
Ill. Ever since his EMT days, Fowler has
maintained a deep interest in healthcare
and medicine, and he enjoys working
with healthcare providers to optimize
their services and patient care. He
admits to “geeking out” over the latest
medical procedures and cures and loves
learning about cutting-edge science and
healthcare innovations.
Fowler regularly consults with
administrators from major academic
medical centers across the country,
including the University of Chicago
Medicine and New York Presbyterian. He
says working in the medical field within
the accounting world is rewarding.
“I am fascinated by how medical
administrators, doctors, and nurses run
their departments,” says Fowler. “There is
so much going on in hospitals today, from
diversity in healthcare to discrepancies
in care due to race and sex; it is all
unbelievably interesting to me. I see my
role as making healthcare better and more
efficient, and it’s incredibly gratifying to me.”
Raising a family of Hawkeyes
Fowler and his wife Courtney (Cavitt)
Fowler (BBA97), who is also an accounting
alum, live in Western Springs, Ill. a
community 15 miles from downtown
Chicago, and have three boys. Identical
twins Josh and Jackson are currently in
their third year at Iowa and are enjoying
their experience on the Iowa City campus.
Josh is studying accounting at Tippie, and
Jackson is studying human physiology and
exercise science. Fowler’s third son, Drew,
is a junior in high school and is seriously
considering becoming a Hawkeye.
Although no one from Fowler’s extended
family still lives in Iowa City, he and his
wife come to town often to visit their sons
and attend football games. Fowler says
he wouldn’t be surprised if at least one of
his twin boys decides to stay in Iowa after
graduation. He says his sons appreciate the
state’s relaxed lifestyle and social values.
Plus, one of his sons recently purchased a
large pickup truck.
“It doesn’t seem like the right choice of
vehicle for the city.”
Fowler on the Professional
Accounting Council
Fowler is committed to exposing more
students to the incredibly diverse world
of accounting. He brings his passion for
education and everything Hawkeye to the
Tippie Professional Accounting Council
(PAC). Now in his third year, Fowler says
he is “preparing the pipeline” to bring
new talent to accounting firms in Iowa
and beyond.
Fowler’s wife served on the PAC about a
decade ago, and he learned a lot about the
council’s work from her. But the experience
of meeting with fellow accountants
and interacting with Tippie Accounting
Department Executive Officer Cristi
Gleason is even better than he expected.
“I learn something every time I am on
campus, and I especially enjoy learning
about the accounting program,” he says.
“The PAC is made up of very smart, driven,
and successful businesspeople, so it’s a joy
to be a member and soak up all that talent
and expertise. I feel I should be thanking
Tippie, not the other way around.” •
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 15