Faculty Spotlight

Tom Fields

(L-R)Tom, Susan, Peter, and David) did a 5K in Deadwood, SD (part of the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon).  Susan and Tom came in last and second to last in the event, but they finished!

“I love attending Tom’s class because he always encourages everyone to be engaged.”Morata Zhou, SMP

I was born in Indianapolis (my family is from Indiana) but grew up mainly in Connecticut.  First came to St. Louis for college.  I was an Olin undergrad (class of 91) with a second major in mathematics.  I met my wife on the South Forty (also Olin class of 91); we dated all through college and married a few months after graduation.  Our senior year, neither of us had a car, but a friend of hers did.  We had access to a parking space, so we let her friend park in our parking space in return for us using the car once a week.  We were both accounting majors and back then (before everything was online), studying for the CPA exam meant driving up to Maryland Heights.  So once a week, we borrowed a car to drive to our CPA study session and would then go out on a date afterward.

We have three kids, all boys.  The oldest graduated from WashU (McKelvey, class of 22).   The youngest just graduated from High School this May.

My wife also worked for Olin for a couple of years back in the 90s, so between four WashU degrees and many years of working here, we’re pretty committed to WashU!

Outside of work, I spend most of my time with my family (as my kids have gotten older, that mostly means my wife).  We like to play games and travel.  For the past few years, my wife and I have been doing “runcations” – neither of us is a competitive runner, but we like the idea of using a running event as the centerpiece of a trip.

The day after the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon, Peter and Tom did the half marathon in Deadwood. The time in picture four is NOT correct (that’s for the full marathon; Tom thinks his time is 3:03). The man in the blue shirt who crossed the finish line with Tom is Ankit Kumar, PMBA XLII, who was in Tom’s class back in 2017.  He recognized Tom on the bus to the start line – evidence that it’s a very small world!
 
(L-R) David, Tom, and Peter are at Black Elk Peak, the highest point in South Dakota.  They did an 8.5-mile hike to get there and then back down.

“I used to be scared and intimidated by accounting but studying under Tom Fields changed everything. Tom has a way of teaching such a complex subject in a way that perfectly makes sense, making many of us accounting newbies believe that this was a career we could pursue one day with confidence and a deep understanding of purpose. I will never forget what Tom said on our first day of class: Accounting is not just about a bunch of numbers on a page. It’s about integrity, transparency, and the pursuit of truth. Mr. Fields embodies the literal translation of the Filipino word for “teacher”–“guro”–which literally means “dispeller of darkness.” By casting accounting in a new light, he changed the way we understand this fundamental aspect of business, making us see its broader, real-life application.” Stacy Alcantara Garcia, MBA 2025