SMU School of Accountancy (SOA) Associate Dean (Research), Professor of Accounting and corporate governance expert Cheng Qiang will be appointed the new SOA Dean starting July 1. At 42 years old, Prof Cheng will be the youngest dean in the history of SMU. In his announcement of this appointment last week, SMU Provost and Deputy President (Academic Affairs) Rajendra K Srivastava described Prof Cheng, who joined SMU in 2011, as a leading expert in financial disclosure, adding that his global connections and leadership qualities will strengthen ties between SMU and universities in North America and China. SOA is ranked the top in Asia and 7th worldwide for research and thought leadership.