Arthur Andersen LLP was once a highly respected, profitable accounting company that was one of the Wayne Calloway School of Accounting and Business' greatest allies, by offering internships and monetary funding, and by hiring graduates.

The firm has a long history with the university, having recruited about 10 students a year out of the accounting program before the company came crashing down when the Enron scandal emerged.

A handful of Andersen employees were connected to the Enron scandal. Though none were Calloway graduates, the university still must suffer the consequences of the incident.

Employees of Andersen were accused of aiding in the disposal and concealment of documents pertaining to Enron's debts and unethical actions.

After being bought out by KPMG and Ernst &Young it no longer recruits the university's students or employs alumni.

"The unfortunate part of the situation is that the (university officials working with the) Andersen people have spent many years developing a reputation within the firm, now they will have to redevelop that reputation in a new firm," said Dale Martin, associate dean for academic program and resources and professor of financial accounting.

For example, one former alumni of the Calloway School was a partner with Andersen for 27 years. Now working at Grant Thornton, he will have to begin rebuilding a relationship with this firm.

"Every former student that I know of that was with Andersen has taken another comparable position with one of the other firms," Martin said.

Because of the long history between the school and the firm, roughly 140 Calloway graduates were employed with Andersen at the time the scandal broke.

Employees like the Calloway graduates were not guilty by any means, yet still had to suffer the consequences of having to reenter the job market.

Several students had completed a January-March internship with the firm, and left believing that they would join the firm full-time upon graduation. Unfortunately, they were sadly mistaken when the news of the firm's involvement with Enron was made public.

Yet through the disappointment, Lee Knight, the director of accountancy program confirmed that "most alumni we talk to harbor no ill will toward Andersen. Most still believe they joined a quality firm and do not believe that they could have foreseen what was going to happen."

"The good news is that most of these individuals secured comparable positions with other firms/companies or started their own practices," Knight said. "In some cities, all former Andersen employees joined one firm, often working on the same clients as before. In other locations, former Andersen employees joined a number of different firms and companies."