FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 99-32 J. Richard Dietrich Appointed Academic Accounting Fellow Washington, D.C., March 25, 1999 -- The Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of the Chief Accountant recently selected Professor J. Richard Dietrich as Academic Accounting Fellow for a one-year term beginning August, 1999. Currently, Professor Dietrich is the Deloitte & Touche Professor of Accountancy at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. Prior to joining the University of Illinois faculty in 1991, Professor Dietrich was a faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin. He also has held visiting faculty positions at Carnegie-Mellon University and the University of Chicago. Professor Dietrich holds a Ph.D. in Industrial Administration with a concentration in accounting, an M.S. in Accounting, an M.S. in Measurement and Control, and a B.S. in Physics from Carnegie-Mellon University. Professor Dietrich's research addresses the interrelationship of accounting information and decision- making in securities trading. His research findings have been published in The Accounting Review, the Journal of Accounting Research, and the Journal of Accounting and Economics. Professor Dietrich has served as an Associate Editor of the Journal of Accounting and Economics and as a member of the Editorial Board of The Accounting Review. At the Commission, the Academic Accounting Fellow serves as a research resource for the staff by interpreting and communicating research materials as they relate to various areas of interest to the SEC. In addition, the Academic Fellow has participated in ongoing projects in the Chief Accountant's office, including rulemaking, liaison with the professional accounting standards-setting bodies and consultation with registrants on accounting and reporting matters. Professor Dietrich will replace the current academic accounting fellow, Professor Joseph H. Godwin, who will return to Grand Valley State University, located in Grand Rapids, Michigan. # # #