Professor Profiles: Dr. Bob Mahan

God works in mysterious ways. Bob Mahan spaced out in church for twenty minutes and has spent the past twenty years at Milligan because of it.

Mahan, associate professor of accounting, was born and raised in Buchanan, Mich. He went to Grand Valley State University near Grand Rapids, and obtained a bachelor’s degree in accounting. Mahan got a masters degree in accounting with an emphasis in taxes from the University of Georgia, and he recently finished his doctorate. 

After school, Mahan stayed in Georgia to work as an accountant; five years later, he had a wife and a newborn daughter and was spending too much time at work.

 “I was seeing her awake every three days,” he said of his daughter. 

That is when he discovered Milligan one Sunday afternoon through the Christian Standard. 

“I can honestly say in the twenty years I’ve been here, I have never once dreaded going to work. That’s why I feel that this is the place God called me to.”  \

Coming to Milligan changed his life. 

“Truly it’s one of those points in life when you realize you just have to turn it all over to God’s will. That’s what it takes. I would have never thought in college I would be where I am now.”

A favorite Milligan memory is while he was teaching in the library, and he looked out of the window and saw a group of Pardee boys (from the dorm which used to stand on Pardee Lawn) throw a television and couch from the roof. They also dragged a flaming couch around campus one night. 

“Pardee is the closest Milligan ever had to a fraternity.” 

Mahan also remembers participating in the annual Sweet Heart Convos with Bill Greer, vice president of institutional advancement, when the two dressed up like crazy characters such as Austin Powers and Dr. Evil to host festivities. He hopes this article will prompt the convo’s return.           

While he attended college, Mahan enjoyed afternoon naps. 

“You don’t quite understand when you’re in high school, and once you’re in the working world, you don’t get them anymore,” he said. 

When he was not napping the afternoons away, he was in the local gym mastering Tae Kwon Do, in which he eventually received a red belt.           

Some of Mahan’s current hobbies include traveling and having campfires in his backyard. 

“I love to burn things. The coolest thing I’ve found to burn in the campfire is a can of refried beans. It sounds like a cannon going off.” 

He often travels to Washington D.C., where his wife spends one week every month for her job. His favorite sites are the Smithsonian Museum of American History and the National Portrait Museum. Someday he wants to travel to Egypt and Israel to see the Pyramids and Holy Land. 

Mahan is an avid reader. His favorites include the Lord of the Rings trilogy (books and movies) and the Harry Potter series. He is currently reading A Team of Rivals, about Abraham Lincoln. He and his wife read Harry Potter books out loud to one another, and finished the seventh book in the car this summer while on the road to D.C. 

Mahan jokingly says, as an accountant, his favorite book of the Bible is Numbers; on a more serious note, his favorite scripture passage is Ephesians 6:12. 

“When you get to the point when you’re frustrated with a situation or an individual, you have to sit back and remember our struggle is not against flesh and blood — there’s something else going on here.” 

His advice to Milligan students is to keep God at the center of our lives and to remember that college does not last forever.

“These are the glory days. College is a great life. Enjoy it while you’re here.” 

Lastly, he encourages everyone to “ponder in their heart” becoming an accounting major.