Meet Candace Witherspoon, Recipient of VSU’s 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Service

Dr. Candace Witherspoon has earned the 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Service at Valdosta State University. She joined the faculty of VSU’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration in 2012 and currently serves as a professor of accounting. She is pictured with Dr. Donald J. Green, president of VSU.

VALDOSTA — Dr. Donald J. Green, president of Valdosta State University, has honored Dr. Candace Witherspoon with the 2026 Presidential Excellence Award for Service.

The Presidential Excellence Award for Service recognizes a faculty member who has demonstrated a strong and consistent commitment to service at VSU and to the community.

Witherspoon joined the faculty of VSU’s Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration in 2012. She currently serves as a professor of accounting with a passion for teaching individual taxation and fraud examination courses and writing about current tax issues. She has also served as head of the Department of Accounting.

VSU: Teaching, mentoring, and conducting research are already full-time jobs. What motivates you to make time for service?

Witherspoon: First, I love service. Second, I believe it is everyone’s moral and civic responsibility to give back to the community.

VSU: Which service roles have allowed you to have the biggest impact on VSU and the community?

Witherspoon: Serving as department head, co-coordinating the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, and volunteering at the animal shelter have allowed me to have the most significant impact. In the fall, I prepare for the next season of VITA (testing and recruiting), co-advise Beta Alpha Psi (accounting student organization), co-host Meet the Firms (career fair), continue as the financial secretary of the Georgia Association of Accounting Educators (GAAE), and continue creating the School of Accountancy E-Bulletin, as well as serve on the Ethics Week Committee, College of Business Administration Strategic Planning Committee, and other committees. I also plan to continue my work at the animal shelter.

VSU: What advice do you have for other faculty who want to make time for service?

Witherspoon: My dissertation advisor told me, “You don’t need to look for service; it will find you.” There are lots of opportunities for service, but not as much time. Be selective. Choose things you enjoy and weigh the impact. Designate a certain number of hours for service each week.