Tree-farmer, musician and accounting Prof. Don Bush has devoted nearly three decades to Regis students

From the lack of math in accounting to his fondness for The Absent-Minded Professor, Regis accounting Prof. Don Bush is full of surprises. And, for nearly 30 years, he's been proving to Regis students that accounting, and accountants, don't have to be dull.

How many years have you been at Regis?
This is my 29th (year). I found that my favorite thing about Regis is the students. The students are by far my favorite part of the University and that's why I've been here so long, I really enjoy making the connection with students.

How many classes do you teach at Regis University?
During the course of the year, I teach seven classes. I pretty much teach all of the accounting classes here with additional finance classes here and there.

I know a lot of students have some resistance to accounting. How would you ease that?
The math level is pretty much all fourth-grade level math, once in a while we have to do eighth-grade math but even then, it's pretty rare. It's simply adding and subtracting. I tell students this is more of a language class where you learn more vocabulary terms than math.

You mentioned not being a stellar student in college, but now you're a professor, how does that tie into your teaching style?
I don't think I was the smartest student but I worked really hard. When I was in college I was taking calculus and I was really struggling. But I decided to go to a used bookstore and I got really lucky. I found a book titled Calculus for a Sixth-Grade Level and I thought this was so easy! Now in my teaching, I try to boil it down as understandable as possible.

What made you want to be a professor?
Ever since I was ten years old I knew I wanted to be a professor. The reason for that is, my family was watching the movie The Absent-Minded Professor.

What made you start in accounting?
I went off to college and I wanted to be a science professor. I was really struggling when my favorite engineering professor told the class, “If you ever have a chance, take accounting.” And so, I thought, 'well my favorite professor suggested that and it wouldn't hurt, I'm struggling in engineering.' I signed up for an accounting class and it clicked. I switched my major and stuck with it, and went from a struggling student to being the valedictorian at Northern Arizona University.

What are some hobbies you enjoy when you’re not teaching?
Playing music. I've been playing professionally for several decades now. I started out playing the drums when I was a little kid and played all through high school and into college. Three years ago, I joined another band and they had a really good bass player, so I went to the rehearsal and I played the piano. Now I've been playing with them for three years.

Another thing that's unique is two of my former students and I, have a tree farm down in Belize. We have 50 acres down there and about 13,000-15,000 trees…It's been a crazy adventure.

Do you have any favorite spots on campus?
I really like the student center. I tend to do my work there and the big reason why is because of all the students! While I'm hanging out in the student center doing my work, I'll sometimes see five to 10 students and it's fun to say hi to them and see what they're up to.