Sometimes what students remember is not what a teacher hoped to impart. That, however, was never a problem for recently retired Professor Clyde Stickney. His students remember that he made accounting come alive for them—just as he intended.
"I tried to have students learn the essential concepts of accounting by applying those concepts in real-world, up-to-date, interesting settings," says Stickney, who started teaching at Tuck in 1977. "For most students, accounting tends to be pretty dry stuff. I tried to get them to see that managers use accounting information—they don't create it."
Former students agree that Stickney got the basics across. "He did a great job," recalls Ellen Remmer T'81. "I learned a huge amount. I have been able to use it my entire life, from the basic training he gave us."
More than that, Tuck MBAs remember how Stickney cared and took pains to allay anxiety. "What I love most about Professor Stickney is his warmth and the way he made a subject that completely intimidated me feel like something I could not only manage but conquer," says Gina Clark des Cognets T'01. "Accounting felt like Chinese to me. I remember going to see him after a particularly hard exam, and his kind and reassuring nature gave me the confidence boost I needed."
"I had had zero accounting, ever," Remmer remembers. "So I pretty much failed the first exam. I was called into the office for a little remedial education. He was terrific, and he really got me up to speed. By the end of the course, I had good grades."
Beyond subject matter, Stickney helped students learn to guard against their weaknesses. "I had a tendency to pay too much attention to detail, and I think I still do," says Manisha Shahane T'97. She fondly recalls seeking Stickney's guidance when working on a solo project during her second year. "He helped me learn to step back and see the bigger picture."
Stickney's favorite memories of Tuck are of his students. "They were the most exciting part of the endeavor. They were very bright and very intellectually involved. Hardly a day went by when I didn't learn something from them. And they were very nice people. They had no pretensions." Also, he says, "The alumni support at Tuck is unique. Regardless of who they work for, they are loyal to Tuck. That was a tremendous plus."
Professor Stickney's research career was also linked to students—he says many of his research ideas came from them. His major research theme was the relationship between accounting information and investment decisions. One project that gives him special satisfaction was a study of the bankruptcy of the W.T. Grant Company, which yielded a paper that "became the basic framework of cash flow statements today."
Stickney says he always aimed to be a unifying force at Tuck, generating and maintaining the "family orientation" that he found so rewarding. He succeeded, according to Senior Associate Dean Robert Hansen. "What comes to mind is complete selflessness, putting the institution first. You could always count on Clyde." Hansen is quick to add that Stickney "was an absolutely fabulous teacher," whether of MBA students, undergraduates in the Tuck Business Bridge Program®, or senior executives. "He could connect with anybody. He is master of every venue."
Hansen says Stickney's texts "set the standard for presenting accounting in an accessible way," and online versions of some of his material are incredibly popular. Stickney intends to continue revising his texts for the next five years or so and to do some teaching for Mc-Kinsey & Company.
At home in Florida in the winter, he branched into a new line of research: family history, which he has been investigating for 10 or 12 years. His family ended up on Key West but hailed from England, Barbados, and the Bahamas. "I plan to write a book, setting my family's history in the history of the times in which they were living," he says. He finds the project "a very satisfying endeavor," not least because it gives him a chance to engage with younger family members. If history is any guide, they will learn even more than the professor does.
