#3 Know Your Professor with Zhyryn

Welcome back to Know Your Professor With Zhyryn!, The Cadre’s weekly feature that spotlights UPEI professors from across campus. Each week, we take a closer look at the people behind the podiums, their journeys, philosophies, and the passions that inspire them both inside and outside the classroom.

This week’s feature brings us to the McDougall Faculty of Business, where I had the pleasure of sitting down with Professor William (Bill) Waterman, a long-time instructor in the Department of Accounting. With decades of experience in both industry and academia, Professor Bill embodies the perfect blend of professional expertise and a genuine passion for teaching.

Before entering the classroom, Professor Bill spent over 25 years in industry, working across a wide range of sectors including natural resources, manufacturing, and public administration. After earning his CPA, CMA designation, he went on to complete an MBA from the Université de Moncton in the early 2000s. It was during his graduate studies that his interest in teaching first took root. “Some of the accounting courses I took made me realize, I could do a better job of teaching this,” he said with a laugh. That realization soon led him to his first teaching opportunity at Mount Allison University, where he taught a sessional course in tax. The experience sparked a new career direction, one that would eventually lead him to UPEI.

Today, Professor Bill teaches a range of courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, focusing on management and advanced financial accounting. His approach to teaching centers on real-world application, with an emphasis on decision-making. “Accounting is decision-making,” he explained. “What I want my students to take away are the skills they can use, not just in accounting, but in any situation that requires analysis and judgment.” To help students build those skills, he uses a flipped classroom model, where lectures are pre-recorded and class time is devoted entirely to problem-solving. “I’ve found that students learn better by doing,” he said. “The theory is one thing, but applying it to real-world problems is where it all comes together.”

When asked what advice he would give to new students, Professor Bill smiled before offering a thoughtful answer.

“Don’t use ChatGPT to do your work for you. AI is going to be an important part of your education and your career, but use it to learn how to ask the right questions. If you know the right question, you’re already close to the right answer.”

Outside of teaching, Professor Bill is deeply involved in professional and community service. He sits on several boards, including CPA Prince Edward Island, where he chairs the Public Practice and Membership Committee, and the Canada Foundation for Innovation, a federal agency that funds research infrastructure across the country. He has also served on the Board of Examiners for CPA Canada and continues to contribute his expertise to strengthen the accounting profession nationwide.

Currently on sabbatical, he’s turning his attention toward research, exploring topics such as Indigenous business models and the intersections between community, government, and enterprise. Whether in the classroom, the boardroom, or the archives, Professor Bill approaches every role with the same mindset, to learn, to contribute, and to give back.

Getting to know professors like Bill Waterman reminds us that great teaching comes not just from knowledge, but from the desire to share it, and to help others see how learning connects to the world beyond the classroom.

Be sure to check back next week for another edition of Know Your Professor With Zhyryn!, where we’ll continue to explore the stories behind UPEI’s dedicated faculty.