Iowa Ledger (2022) - Tippie College of Business

Yet even the numbers seem inadequate
to describe the impact of Berg’s 30 years
of research, teaching, and service at the
University of Iowa.
Accounting alumni probably know her best
from her work with Beta Alpha Psi (BAP)
and the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
(VITA) Program. Berg was the BAP faculty
advisor and helped the organization
significantly expand its service to the
community from September 2005 until
her retirement in 2022. Through BAPsponsored
Habitat for Humanity Tippie
Builds, Berg led accounting students in
building homes for families. This included
climbing on the roof to lay shingles,
planning pasta lunches and leaf rakes
to raise funds, and enlisting accounting
alums to work side-by-side with students
on the builds.
Roberto Paniagua (BBA11) pictured on
Berg’s left above, said he first encountered
Berg when taking her honors Managerial
Accounting class. That classroom
connection grew into Paniagua becoming
co-head of the 2011 Tippie Build.
“She put an incredible amount of energy
into helping build and fundraise $50,000
for the construction of a new home for a
family in need,” said Paniagua, who is now
an account executive at Google. “I never
understood how she managed to stay on
top of everything she did, but her selfless
energy and passion for helping others
was the biggest and best lesson I took
away from my four years at Iowa.”
Berg also has a creative streak. She
expanded the annual Meet the Firms
Night networking event, moving it for
many years to the press box at Kinnick
Stadium where recruiters saw their firms’
names flash across the scoreboard as they
networked with students. The Department
of Accounting boasts a college-leading
98% placement rate, thanks in part to
Berg’s vision of networking events.
Berg has also been the Iowa VITA Program
site coordinator, trainer, and advisor for
the last 17 years. VITA student volunteers
assist low- and moderate-income families
in Johnson County to prepare their tax
returns. Berg increased the number of
clients VITA served tenfold.
“Professor Berg worked tirelessly alongside
the student volunteers, processing
hundreds of tax returns in a very short
period of time,” said 2008 BAP vice
president of VITA programming Evan
Malcom (BBA09). “Her energy and
desire to always maximize the refunds
for the taxpayers kept the student
volunteers engaged and always learning
something new with each return they
processed.”
Blake Walton (BBA21/MAc22), a VITA
teaching assistant, remembers that “she
would do everything in her power to not
turn a taxpayer away,” recalling many
evenings where VITA sites went late, but
she would continue to take details outside
after they were rushed out of the library.
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,
Berg deftly shifted VITA to a fully virtual
program with a secure electronic drop
box for taxpayer documents, helping more
than 700 taxpayers prepare their returns—
many after students had left school for
summer break.
Alumni and students may be less aware
of Berg’s pathbreaking scholarship. She
was the first woman awarded tenure and
promoted to full professor in accounting
at the University of Iowa, arriving just
a few years after the Iowa Electronic
Markets (IEM) started in 1988. For many
years, Berg was the director of the IEM,
which is considered the first prediction
market in the country. She has written
more than 20 scholarly research articles
to date using IEM data and played a key
role in facilitating research opportunities
for her colleagues.
“One of the best things about coming
to Iowa was the opportunity to have
Joyce as a colleague,” said Professor Tom
Rietz, finance department executive
officer. “It has been my pleasure to work
with her on several research projects
and serve together on the IEM steering
committee. She’s a careful scholar with an
exceptionally creative mind.”
BERG HAS EARNED MANY ACCOLADES
DURING HER TENURE AT TIPPIE,
INCLUDING:
• Outstanding Service Contribution by a
Faculty Member Award (2016)
• Michael J. Brody Award for Faculty
Excellence in Service to the University
and the State of Iowa (2014)
• Faculty Advisor of the Year (2013)
• Gil Maynard Excellence in Accounting
Instruction Award (2012)
• President’s Award for Technology
Innovation (2000)
• Under her direction, BAP won the
University of Iowa President’s Award for
State Outreach and Public Engagement
for the VITA Program and its impact on
the Johnson County community (2008)
Those who know her are not surprised
that she is more gratified to hear students
remember her as a professor who “taught
them the human side of accounting.” •
UNIVERSITY OF IOWA TIPPIE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS 7