Accounting Associate Professor Mohamed Gomaa receives distinguished U.S. Fulbright Scholar award for 2023-2024
Administered by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, The Fulbright U.S. Scholars program is an international academic exchange of scholars and professionals founded to increase mutual understanding and to support friendly relations between people from the United States and other countries.
This past year, Mohamed Gomaa, associate professor of accounting and director of the master of science in accountancy (MSA) program at the College of Business Administration (CBA) at Cal Poly Pomona received this incredible honor and was named a Fulbright Scholar for 2023-2024.
Gomaa’s research interests are in the areas of accounting information systems, judgment and decision making, auditing, and blockchain technology, and he regularly brings his research into the classroom.
Thanks to the passion and focus of professors like Gomaa, Cal Poly Pomona has been recognized as a 2023-24 U.S. Fulbright Scholar Top Producing Institution for STEM Fields and a among master’s-granting universities.
How and when did you begin teaching at Cal Poly Pomona?
I joined Cal Poly Pomona in the fall of 2017. Upon graduating from college, I went straight to graduate school in Florida and earned two master's degrees and a Ph.D. I started my first job in 2005 as an instructor, then as an assistant professor at Wilfrid Laurier University in Canada. I have been in academia my entire career, teaching at Suffolk University and Hofstra University before joining Cal Poly Pomona.
What are your goals as director of the MSA program at the Singelyn Graduate School of Business?
As the director of the MSA program, I hope to grow and improve the quality of our program, while updating it to make it more relevant to today's technology-focused environment. In doing so, I hope to make a meaningful difference by providing opportunities to graduates looking to advance in their careers, or move into the accounting field.
What has been your involvement with Fulbright organization up to this point? What were some of the qualifying needs for being selected as a professor?
I was awarded the U.S. Fulbright Scholar award in the fall of 2023. The award required travel to Egypt to collaborate on research and teaching at a host institution located in Alexandria Egypt. The selection process is quite competitive and required a history of research and teaching in the specialty indicated, in addition to a comprehensive research proposal to be conducted at the host institution. As part of the award, I strengthened connections between Cal Poly Pomona and my host institution and made several presentations to practitioners, business associations, and faculty in Egypt.
What does this selection mean for you personally, and how do you see Cal Poly Pomona and the SGSB benefitting by being a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright Scholars?
Being a Fulbright Scholar has been one of my goals since the start of my career. Working toward that goal meant that I needed to excel not only at research, but also at teaching, service to the school, the community, and our students, as well as form international collaborations to share mutually beneficial knowledge. I am a firm believer that international collaboration between institutions not only helps elevate the programs and research of the two schools, but also benefits society at large. This is clear from both the collaborative research output, as well and higher quality graduates that enter the workforce as a result of the joint curriculum development and exchange of ideas. Being a Top Producing Institution of Fulbright Scholars will allow Cal Poly Pomona and the Singelyn Graduate School of Business to form new international collaborations and strengthen existing ones.