Executive Director

Terry L. Neal

Terry Neal, Ph.D., CPA, joined the Neel Corporate Governance Center in 2003 as an inaugural research fellow, going on to become center’s the executive director in 2016. In his role as executive director, Neal oversees the center’s operations and strategic direction. Neal also serves as the Richard L. Townsend Accounting Chair and head of the college’s Department of Accounting and Information Management. He has more than two decades of experience researching issues related to auditor independence and audit committee oversight. He also is a longstanding coauthor of the GAAP Guide and has produced research in collaboration with KPMG Audit Committee Institute, the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO), the Center for Audit Quality and the Institute of Internal Auditors. Prior to entering academia, Neal worked in the Nashville and Knoxville offices of KPMG, as well as in the internal auditing department of Lockheed Martin.

Director of Research

Lauren Cunningham

Lauren Cunningham, Ph.D., CPA, joined the Neel Corporate Governance Center in 2016 as its director of research. In her role, Cunningham coordinates the center’s research forum, governance insights speaker series and professional research collaborations. She is the Keith Stanga Professor of Accounting and researches and teaches on various topics relating to audit, corporate governance and regulatory oversight of corporate disclosures, including sustainability reporting. Cunningham is particularly passionate about research that provides useful insights for accounting and governance professionals. In that regard, she has collaborated with the Center for Audit Quality to analyze audit committees’ evolving responsibilities, as well as with the Institute of Internal Auditors to measure corporate governance quality in the U.S. Prior to entering academia, Cunningham worked as an audit manager with Grant Thornton LLP in Dallas, Texas.

Director of Practice

Mark Davenport

Marc Davenport, CPA, joined the Neel Corporate Governance Center in 2024 as the director of practice. In this role, Davenport identifies relevant and timely speakers for the Governance Insights speaker series, as well as seeking other opportunities to collaborate with practice. Davenport has over 34 years of auditing, accounting and advisory experience and has served a wide array of clients in several industries. He has extensive experience with SEC matters, including IPOs and complex business combinations, and has worked with companies ranging from early-stage start-ups to large global organizations. Prior to joining the Neel Center, Davenport served in various leadership capacities in the Atlanta and Chicago offices of EY, as well as a managing partner of BDO. He serves as an adjunct faculty member at UT and is a core faculty member of Haslam’s Executive and Professional MBA programs.