Creighton University accounting and law professor Thomas J. Purcell III received the American Institute of CPAs’ 2010 Arthur J. Dixon Memorial Award, the highest award given by the accounting profession in the area of taxation.

The award was presented at the AICPA’s Fall Tax Division Meeting in Washington, D.C., by Patricia Thompson, chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee.

Purcell has been a member of the Creighton faculty since 1979. Prior to that, he was a tax consultant with the Omaha office of Touche Ross & Co. He has been a dedicated volunteer leader for the AICPA for more than 20 years and is a past chair of the AICPA Tax Executive Committee.

Purcell currently chairs the AICPA’s Energy Tax Policy Task Force and serves as a member of the Tax Practice Responsibilities Committee. He has served on numerous other Tax Division committees and task forces, including the Tax Accounting Committee and the Tax Legislation and Policy Committee. In addition, Purcell has served on the AICPA Pre-certification Education Executive Committee and the AICPA Strategic Planning Committee, and as a member of the AICPA’s governing Council.

He is a long-time member of the editorial board of the AICPA’s The Tax Adviser  and is the author of a book, several professional training manuals and many articles published in academic and professional journals.

Purcell is also an active volunteer with the Nebraska Society of CPAs. He served as chairman of the society’s board of trustees in 1997 and 1998.

Among the awards he has received are the Creighton University Distinguished Faculty Service Award, the Nebraska Society of CPAs Public Service Award and the Outstanding Accounting Educator Award.  He was named the Beta Alpha Psi National Business Information Professional of the Year and has twice been named by Accounting Today as one of the Top 100 Most Influential People in Accounting.