Everyone should get to love their work as much as Assistant Professor Casey Camors. The California native felt a connection from the time she first interviewed for a position on the Adkerson School of Accountancy faculty in 2020.

As a soon-to-be doctoral graduate attending the American Accounting Association annual meeting, she met with ASAC Director Shawn Mauldin, Dr. Brad Lang and then-faculty member Dr. Brad Trinkle.

“They’re wonderful people and very driven as well,” she says. “And our personalities just matched up.”

The feeling was mutual, and Camors was brought to campus for a follow-up, where her initial impressions were reinforced, and she also “fell in love” with Starkville’s college town atmosphere.

“It was everything in a nice, neat package – it was perfect!” she remarks.

Camors was beginning a new phase in her professional career, which had started when she graduated from Oregon State University in 2003 with a BS in accounting. She took a position in a small Oregon accounting firm where she was able to work in both governmental and not-for-profit audit, as well as tax. Six years later she moved to a mid-sized firm in Portland, OR; then in 2009, she went to work for one of the firm’s clients, the city of West Linn, OR, as Deputy Chief Financial Officer. Through an intergovernmental agreement, she and her boss began serving the city of Milwaukie, OR, as well, and Camors became Milwaukie’s Finance Director in 2011, holding the role through 2016.

“I loved my job and loved local government,” she states. “But it felt like something was missing in my career.”

Curious about teaching, she sought out a former colleague who was serving as an adjunct at Portland State University (PSU), and he encouraged her to follow in his footsteps. With her expertise in state and local government, Camors was soon welcomed to PSU as an adjunct professor. Two years there confirmed her calling to education. She enrolled in the accounting doctoral program at Texas Tech University, earning her PhD in 2020.

Today at Mississippi State, she teaches Municipal and Governmental Accounting to undergraduates and Ethics in Accounting for graduate students. Her research focuses on regulatory environments – state and local governments as well as regulated areas in the private sector, such as nonprofit hospitals or the cannabis industry.

Camors also chairs ASAC’s Assurance of Learning Committee. She holds the Steve and Sherri Sanders Fellowship and received the School’s 2022 Faculty Research Award. In addition to a Mississippi CPA license, her credentials include Certified Management Accountant, Certified Public Finance Officer, Chartered Global Management Accountant and Municipal Auditor.

Away from work, Camors’ two kids and three dogs fill most of her time. In rare spare moments, she also enjoys fishing, time with friends and sewing “very bad” quilts.

Asked what she enjoys about her work, she is enthusiastic.

“There’s so much variety,” she begins. “I get to teach different topics and research different areas. Our department is flexible and supportive about making it possible to teach and research what interests you. For instance, I got to build the ethics course entirely on my own.”

She continues, “There’s lots of trust and respect here – and fellowship. Plus I love Starkville – my four closest neighbors are Mississippi State colleagues.

“You can’t get better than that. I hope to stay here forever!”