Rodney Mock

Professor and Area Chair

Contact Information

Email: rmock@calpoly.edu
Phone: 805-756-2730
Office Location: 003-402

A recognized tax scholar, Professor Mock has published numerous tax law and policy articles in the areas of tax practice and procedure, international, estate and gift, partnership and corporate taxation. His published articles can be viewed in top-ranking tax journals such as, Florida Tax Review, Virginia Tax Review, Akron Tax Journal, The Tax Lawyer, Journal of Taxation, Tax Notes, Taxes, Houston Business and Tax Law Journal, Australian Tax Forum, Fordham Journal of Corporate and Financial Law, Issues in Accounting Education, DePaul Business & Commercial Law Journal, Temple Law Review, University of Cincinnati Law Review, Practical Tax Strategies, Financial and Estate Planning, The CPA Journal, Exempt Organization Tax Review and Practical Estate Planning. Professor Mock’s publications have on multiple occasions received national recognition in Amicus Curiae briefs before the U.S. Supreme Court, congressional reports for the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, the U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation, and other notable tax policy institutes.

His research has also been cited by the United States Tax Court and the United States District Court. He is also a frequent commentator on Fox News discussing tax topics ranging from the constitutionality of a retroactive estate tax to the policy implications associated with a high corporate tax rate. His research has also been discussed in articles, television and radio appearances for Forbes, Wall Street Journal, CNN, US News, the San Francisco Chronicle, The Hill and other media outlets.

At the moment, Professor Mock teaches several courses at Cal Poly at the graduate and undergraduate level; including, Advanced Taxation of Flow-Through Entities, Taxation of Corporations and Partnerships, Federal Taxation of Trusts, Estates and Transfer Taxation, Tax Research and Administrative Procedures and Individual Income Taxation. Dr. Mock continually receives exceptionally high evaluations from his students and has been the recipient of several outstanding educator awards.

Prior to joining Cal Poly, Professor Mock’s previous professional experience entailed working on sophisticated tax, estate and business transactions, as an associate attorney at Merrill-OSullivan, LLP in Bend, Oregon. Dr. Mock’s former experience in Oregon also involved significant participation in community organizations as a board director for The Center Foundation, Awbrey Butte Neighborhood Association, and as a member of the Central Oregon Community College Investment Committee. Before the practice of law, Professor Mock was actively engaged in the entertainment business in Los Angeles, California, on television and film productions; most notably, all three seasons of Nickelodeons The Journey of Allen Strange.

Dr. Mock received his B.A. degree Summa Cum Laude from University of California Davis, J.D. at the University of Oregon School of Law, and LL.M. in taxation from the University of Washington School of Law.