Randy Sanderson studied accounting at UMSL and earned his degree in 1977 before embarking on a decades-long career as a controller, including with May Department Stores Company and Dollar General. He’s continued to give back to his alma mater through is support of scholarships. (Photo courtesy of Randy Sanderson)
By Kala Dunn, University Advancement
Randy Sanderson built a successful, decades-long corporate career that included multiple roles as a controller within the May Department Stores Company as well as at Dollar General.
But Sanderson, who studied accounting at the University of Missouri–St. Louis and earned his BSBA in 1977, believes he made some of his most meaningful professional contributions outside of those jobs when he had the unlikely chance to help reunite grieving families with the remains of their deceased loved ones.
At the conclusion of his time at Dollar General, Sanderson and his family moved back to his hometown of St. Louis. Sanderson began working for a company in the death care industry when he was asked to help solve a case of potential embezzlement at a St. Louis funeral home.
Always diligent in his work, Sanderson was especially motivated by the thought of helping bereaved families. His careful review of records and well-conducted staff interviews provided the evidence needed to resolve the case, and his thorough documentation earned him praise from federal law enforcement officials.
“I have learned that hard work and attention to detail really pays off in the end result,” Sanderson said. “I try to paint a picture – here’s a picture of what these numbers are telling you. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I would say a picture is worth a thousand numbers.”
The quality of his work meant that when suspicions arose at a cemetery in Chicago owned by the same company, Sanderson was again deemed the right person to investigate. But the financial mismanagement he found was just the tip of the iceberg at Burr Oak Cemetery, where a tangled web of exhumed graves and resold plots made national news.
“It was not quite the national catastrophe that the media played it up to be,” Sanderson said. “But there was some bad workmanship, and the proper care was not given.”
Sanderson played an important role in righting the ship at Burr Oak as the historic cemetery was restored and operational practices were established. One unexpectedly meaningful part of his job was sorting out the cemetery’s handwritten financial records and helping families discern where their loved ones were actually buried.
“To be able to be with those families, to help comfort them in knowing that their loved ones’ bodies were not destroyed and that they were still in their resting places – that gave me a lot of personal satisfaction,” Sanderson said. “We met with hundreds of families, and I can only think of two cases where we could not come up with the correct answer. I would say that’s one of my proudest accomplishments.”
Sanderson feels that his education at UMSL’s Ed G. Smith College of Business prepared him well for this unexpected opportunity to serve others.
“I used to say I got an Ivy League accounting education at a very affordable price,” he said. “The college is a lot larger today, but being able to bond with my professors really helped. I was more than a student number. Professors knew me by my name.”
Sanderson was a hard worker who made the most of his time at UMSL, earning a coveted INROADS internship with the May Company. This placement led directly to his 25-year career in retail, including assignments in St. Louis, Los Angeles, Norwalk, New York City and Denver.
Sanderson also credits the university with offering a flexible schedule that allowed him to fund his education through part-time jobs, helping him to succeed as a first-generation college student. Now, he helps others complete their own academic journeys through the Randy Sanderson Scholarship.
“I’m a firm believer in giving back because UMSL meant a lot to me, and I wanted to make sure that other young students would have an opportunity to attend UMSL,” Sanderson said. “We cannot let finances be a barrier. One recipient was a young lady who was caring for her sick mother and carrying a full load in high school. I was pleased as punch that she could receive funds from the Sanderson Scholarship.”
When asked what advice he would offer current UMSL students, Sanderson was quick to encourage students to pursue accounting.
“Take the accounting road,” he said. “It’s a more rigorous curriculum, but you will have many more career opportunities because accounting is the language of business. I can’t think of any business organization, church group or government entity that doesn’t need accountants.”
For Sanderson, choosing the accounting path led to some unexpected places, but the rewards were certainly worth the journey.
