Following her passing on Jan. 23, 2026, colleagues from across the academic sector and the accounting profession are remembering 2020-21 COCPA Chair Sharon S. Lassar, Ph.D., CPA (Florida), for her unwavering commitment to students and the future of the profession that she loved. 

Lassar, John J. Gilbert Endowed Professor and longtime director of the University of Denver (DU) Daniels College of Business School of Accountancy, was born in Wheeling, West Virginia. She began her career at the University of Arizona before moving onto roles at Florida Atlantic University and Florida International University. 

Once she arrived at DU’s Daniels College of Business in 2010, she hit the ground running, and is widely credited with transforming the School of Accountancy over the next 15 years into the nationally respected program that it is today.  

A Commitment to Student Success

Lassar was known as much for her focus on technical and academic matters as for her deep dedication to students, in whose success she was personally invested.

“Sharon’s commitment to educating future members of the accounting profession was unparalleled,” says Mary E. Medley, retired COCPA CEO. “She pushed tirelessly for educational excellence, knowing that well-educated students make ethical, competent, successful contributors in their chosen endeavors.” 

In a January 2026 letter to colleagues following Lassar’s passing, DU Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth G. Loboa, Ph.D.,  wrote, “Perhaps more than anything, Sharon will be remembered as a great connector, whose passion and dedication brought people together.” 

DU alumna Emily Huff, CPA, now a senior associate, Deal Advisory and Strategy with KPMG LLP in Chicago, knows firsthand the life-changing impact that Lassar had on the university community. 

“Whenever she could get School of Accountancy students together, she would! From welcome-back receptions to end-of-year banquets, Dr. Lassar created support, recognition, and camaraderie that solidified bonds for a lifetime. Whatever she did, she always had her students’ best interests at heart,” Huff recalls. 

Vital to the success of any academic program is an excellent faculty, and Lassar worked to create a top-notch department that supported her vision. 

Tom Hall, CPA, CFA, who has served on the School of Accountancy faculty since 2015, currently as a Professor of the Practice, remembers the critical role that Lassar played in his early days with the university.

“Sharon was a tremendously good boss for the past 10+ years since I started teaching at DU,” he reflects. “She coached me through a difficult first year as I awkwardly tried to navigate the classroom and find my own style of teaching. She guided me through each promotion, ensuring that I was adequately prepared and doing what was required to be successful in the department and the college.”

Breaking Down Barriers

DU alumna and 2025-26 COCPA Chair Alexie Tune, CPA, MAcc, chairs the DU School of Accountancy Advisory Board. “I’ve heard time and time again from students that Sharon was the reason they were able to complete their accounting degree,” she says. 

“And she didn’t just point students to resources,” Tune continues. “Instead, Sharon rolled up her sleeves and spent countless hours helping students navigate financial aid complexities and ensuring they had the funding needed to finish their degree at the University of Denver.

“Just as importantly, she stayed present for them, providing guidance as they progressed through the program and as they transitioned from campus to life after graduation.”

Leadership at the State and National Levels

Before moving to Colorado in 2010, Lassar was actively engaged with the Florida Institute of CPAs (FICPA), including service as vice president and as point person for transforming FICPA’s financial literacy and women’s leadership development initiatives.  

Once in Colorado, Lassar served on the COCPA Educational Foundation Board of Trustees, eventually as its 2017-18 president. She was honored with the Society’s Women to Watch Leader of Note Award in 2018, and served as the COCPA 2020-21 Board Chair. 

Medley says that Lassar’s gifts for innovation and connection were key to her success as Chair. “Sharon served as COCPA Board Chair in the ‘Covid Year,’” she recalls. “With everyone unable to gather in person, she became the expert at virtual meetings and events, reaching out to members across Colorado, keeping them informed and connected remotely.”

On the national stage, Lassar served as president of the American Accounting Association’s 2017-18 Accounting Programs Leadership Section. She served on the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) Accreditation Task Force, and chaired the Minority Issues effort of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, to which she was appointed by U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul H. O’Neill.

An Impact Beyond Measure

COCPA CEO Alicia Gelinas, CPA, reflects on her full-circle relationship with Lassar over the years. “As an alum of the DU accounting program, I helped interview her for her role as Accounting Department chair, and years later she helped interview me for the CEO role at the COCPA,” Gelinas shares. 

“Sharon was relentless in the pursuit of what was right: fiercely opinionated, deeply informed, and sincerely connected to people. She worked with a powerful force that reshaped the profession she loved. She changed policies and systems so that her impact would endure, but it was always, ultimately, about people and improving lives, even in the smallest ways.”

Whether tirelessly championing the DU School of Accountancy, securing academic excellence, advocating for alternative pathways to CPA licensure, or driving programs to improve financial literacy and provide taxpayer assistance in underserved communities, Lassar’s contributions will be felt for generations. 

“Sharon fostered a strong, supportive community where students and alumni felt known, valued, and connected – creating an affinity for the school that extends well beyond graduation,” notes Tune. “That sense of belonging reflects Sharon’s consistent presence, her encouragement, and the way she brought students, faculty, and alumni together.”

“The School of Accountancy is a tight-knit community whose members lean on and learn from each other – a culture that wouldn’t exist without Dr. Lassar,” Huff says. “She truly created an amazing community in the halls of the Daniels College of Business, and her impact can never fully be measured.”

Hall asserts that the fruits of Lassar’s efforts extend well beyond the DU community. 

“There are so many employers who come to our campus regularly to hire our students, usually as many as we can provide. We currently enjoy a near-100% placement rate, and we have for several years,” he says.

“All of this produces happy and successful alumni who want to give back via mentoring, serving on the Advisory Board, and through donations. And the virtuous cycle continues. I believe most of these wonderful outcomes are a direct result of the effort and wisdom of Dr. Sharon Lassar.” 

Lassar is survived by her husband, Walfried; her children, Sarah, Walfried Jr., and Stephanie; her cherished grandchildren, Enzo, Ingrid, and Nico; and six siblings.

In Lassar's honor, DU honorary life trustee and School of Accountancy Advisory Board member Margot Gilbert Frank has renamed the John J. Gilbert Endowed Scholarship the Sharon Lassar Endowed Scholarship Fund. The fund will support undergraduate accounting students with need- and merit-based financial aid. The COCPA Board of Directors has contributed $1,000 to the fund in honor of Lassar's enduring professional contributions as a past COCPA Chair.

For more on Lassar’s life and legacy, watch for the spring 2026 issue of NewsAccount, coming digitally in April.