Vikki Bentz, / YC Accounting Professor/Motorsports Enthusiast
Along with many years of motocross, Vikki and her husband have been drag racing motorcycles for more than 15 years.
Along with many years of motocross, Vikki and her husband have been drag racing motorcycles for more than 20 years.
Yavapai College students have access to many sophisticated, dedicated and experienced professors, with Victoria Bentz serving as a prime example of all categories. Vikki, as she is known around campus, has been a professor of accounting and computer science at Yavapai College since 1997 and has served as president of the Faculty Senate twice. She holds several academic degrees, including a Bachelor of Science in Business, a Masters of Business Administration, a Masters in Education, a Graduate Certificate in Online Teaching and a Certificate of Advanced Graduate Studies in accounting. Not one to rest on her laurels, she’s currently a doctoral candidate in Business.
Students benefit from Vikki's professional experience, which includes teaching at such colleges as Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and California State University. She has also served as president on the Humboldt Unified School District Governing Board as well as the Glassford Hill Middle School Parent Teacher Student Organization, and was the recipient of the Barbara McClurg Award for Innovation and Creativity in 2000, acknowledging her "unique and outstanding achievements, extraordinary accomplishments, and special enhancements of Yavapai College." She was also selected for the NISOD Teaching Excellence award in 2020.
Complementing her academic and professional experience is her extensive background in business. For example, Bentz and her husband, Bill, own a real estate business, Sun State Properties & Mgmt., LLC. "It's great to bring real-world experience into the classroom, particularly since many students wish to start their own businesses in the local area," Vikki says. "It also helps keep students engaged through the theoretical accounting lectures."
In addition to her professional achievements, Vikki has traveled all over the world. Her excursions have included Europe, Australia, Peru, Japan, Costa Rica, Thailand, Turkey, Greece, Tahiti, Canada, Mexico, Alaska, and several Hawaiian islands. In addition, Vikki and her family enjoy motorsports. Currently, most weekend activities include camping and riding the desert trails of Arizona and Utah, and likely include grandchildren learning to ride their own bikes.
Along with many years of motocross, Vikki and her husband have been drag racing motorcycles for more than 20 years. Vikki currently races a 2006 Harley V-Rod destroyer. Vikki's husband runs a nitro-methane pro-drag bike. They participated in an NHRA national circuit last year with a second-place national finish for Bill.
All of this experience comes together in the classroom to the advantage of Vikki's students. Her purpose as an instructor is to, in her words "help students identify their own strengths and find a career that utilizes those strengths" just as she has done in her own life. Bentz notes the individualized environment at YC helps students in this pursuit. "You can expect a very personal experience at YC, not a 300-seat lecture hall experience. Faculty and staff take a very personal interest in student success at YC."
Underlining Vikki's belief in the value of Yavapai College is the fact that two of Vikki's children have attended the college. "Our two daughters attended YC, and our oldest daughter graduated from the YC nursing program," she says proudly.
Vikki says her favorite part of teaching is watching students develop a passion for the subject. "Some students come into Introductory Accounting and find out they are very good at it and make a career choice and educational goals based upon that new knowledge," she says. "The best moment is when a business or management student attends my accounting class and declares that they enjoy accounting so much that they are changing their major!"
Her students' comments help complete the picture of a dedicated, welcoming professor who knows her stuff. A sampling from online posts: "Prof. Bentz is awesome. She is so helpful and inspirational." "She is a great accounting teacher who knows what she's talking about." "In class she is great at helping if you ask. She is very, very nice and super helpful." "She is a good Accounting teacher...very thorough and clear. Will answer all of your questions if you ask."
Written by Moriah Boone, updated 4/2020