Ethics Across the Curriculum

Missouri State University is proud to present the Public Affairs Convocation Series titled Ethics Across the Curriculum.  In this series, nationally recognized persons with expertise in the areas of business, media, sport, medial, criminal justice and environmental ethics will be invited to campus to discuss their views on the topic.

It seems non-controversial to assume that the decisions people make as adults are shaped by the attitudes and beliefs they obtain as they mature.  If we want people to make good decisions, the study of ethical decision-making is surely of serious importance.  The stated purpose of Missouri State University – “to develop educated persons while achieving five goals: democratizing society, incubating new ideas, imagining Missouri’s future, making Missouri’s future and modeling ethical and effective behavior” – acknowledges this importance.  The areas in which ethical decision-making are to be examined address in some way all six themes embraced by the University: “business and economic development; creative arts; health; professional education; science and the environment; and the human dimension.”  The ethical questions that arise in medicine, the environment, business, media, and criminal justice are ones that cannot be answered without recognition of the influence of character, which dovetails perfectly with the University’s assertion that: “As a character-building institution, with national recognition from the Templeton Foundation and the Princeton Review’s College with a Conscience, Missouri State encourages students to reflect on questions of personal values, identity, and the ultimate meaning” (http://www.missouristate.edu).  These are the sorts of questions to be examined in this series of presentations. 

All lectures are free and open to the public.
Free parking will be available.

For more information, contact Mary Ann Wood, Director of Public Affairs Support (maryannwood@missouristate.edu)

 

Business Ethics
Robert Colson
Monday, October 1, 2007
Glass Hall 101
7 p.m.

Robert H. Colson joined Grant Thornton LLP in August 2005 as a partner for institutional acceptance.  Grant Thornton International is one of the six global accounting, tax, and business advisory organizations.  Mr. Colson works with capital markets’ institutions and individual thought leaders in academics, business, standards-setters, and government on policy issues related to accounting, auditing, and finance.  Mr. Colson graduated with an A.B. in modern languages from the University of Notre Dame in 1970.  He was awarded an MA in accountancy in 1979 and a PhD in accountancy in 1980 from The Ohio State University with PhD minors in Economics and Industrial Engineering. 

Previously, Mr. Colson was editor-in-chief of The CPA Journal and Managing Director for Quality Enhancement at the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.  Mr. Colson devoted 24 years to teaching, research, service, and administration at The Ohio State University, the University of Michigan, Case Western Reserve University, and Daemen College between 1976 and 2000.  He has contributed over 80 publications in academic and professional journals.  Before entering academics, Colson was the chief executive of a not-for-profit publishing and conference administration organization, a CPA in a firm now merged with RSM McGladrey, and the CFO of a large, diversified transportation company.

Mr. Colson is a member of the American Accounting Association, Financial Executives International, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants.  He is a member of the board of advisors of the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at Yale University and a trustee of the SEC Historical Society.

 

Media Ethics
Doug McGill

Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Plaster Student Union Theater
7:00 pm

 

Doug McGill is a journalist and Professor of Journalism who has worked as a staff reporter at The New York Times, and as a bureau chief for Bloomberg News in Tokyo, London and Hong Kong. Since 2000 he has lived in Rochester, Minnesota, writing stories that illuminate the international connections linking Minnesota to the rest of the world. In 2003, he broke the story of genocide in Africa by interviewing Ethiopian refuges living in Minnesota. Besides this “glocal” reporting, as he calls it, McGill writes essays on journalism ethics on three main themes: the manipulation of language by government and corporate power; the need for citizens to develop an ethic of news media consumption; and the role of the news media in perpetuating a culture of polarization, harshness, identity-obsession and violence. He has taught the role of the media in public affairs at the Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs in Minneapolis, MN, and mass media studies at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, MN. In September, he published a collection of his global-Minnesota reportage called “Here: A Global Citizen’s Journey.” His journalism web site is The McGill Report at www.mcgillreport.org, and his ethics blog is Local Man at www.localman.org.

 

Sport Ethics
Angela Lumpkin

 

Thursday, January 24, 2008
Plaster Student Union Theater
6:30 pm

 

Angela Lumpkin is the author of Sport Ethics: Applications for Fair Play. Balancing theory with application, Sport Ethics asks hard questions and provides compelling insights concerning the foundations of competition and sportsmanship, especially as they relate to honesty, justice, and fairness. Angela Lumpkin is a Professor in the Department of Health, Sport and Exercise Sciences at the University of Kansas, where she formerly served as Dean of the School of Education. She previously served at State University of West Georgia, North Carolina State University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas, a master’s degree and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University, and a M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 

Angela Lumpkin is the author of 20 books and 40 scholarly publications, plus numerous essays and other published articles.  She has served as President of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education as well as two state professional organizations. She has received several professional recognitions, including the Honor Award from the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, selection as an American Council of Education Fellow, and The Order of the Long Leaf Pine from the Governor of North Carolina for contributions to the physical fitness and health of North Carolinians.

 

Patrick Oliver
Criminal Justice Ethics
Thursday, February 28, 2008
7:00 PM, PSU Theatre

Professor Oliver serves as Assistant Professor of Criminal Justice and Director of the Criminal Justice Program. Prior to coming to Cedarville in 2005, he served 27 years in law enforcement, including Chief of Police in the City of Fairborn, Grandview Heights, and Cleveland, Ohio, and as Ranger Chief of Cleveland Metropolitan Parks. He also spent eleven years as a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol.

He received his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and Masters of Business Administration from Baldwin Wallace College. In addition, Professor Oliver has completed programs with the Penn State University Police Executive School, FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development School, and the Ohio Association of Police Executive Leadership College. He is also a Certified Law Enforcement Executive. Besides teaching and program development, Professor Oliver serves in many law enforcement organizations. These include the Ohio Association of Chiefs of Police, the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives, NOBLE, and as a Commissioner for the Commission of Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies.

 

Medical Ethics
Rebecca Dresser
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Plaster Student Union Theater
7 pm

Rebecca Dresser is the Daniel Noyes Kirby Professor of Law and Professor of Ethics in Medicine at Washington University in St. Louis.  Since 1983, she has taught medical and law students about legal and ethical issues in end-of-life care, biomedical research, genetics, assisted reproduction, and related topics.  Previously, she taught at Baylor College of Medicine and Case Western Reserve University.  In 2003, she was a Visiting Research Scholar at the University of Tokyo, where she taught a short course in law and bioethics.  Dresser received her law degree from Harvard Law School.  She is a Fellow of the Hastings Center and is one of the “At Law” columnists for the Hastings Center Report.  Her book, When Science Offers Salvation: Patient Advocacy and Research Ethics, was published by Oxford University Press in 2001.  She is a co-author of The Human Use of Animals: Case Studies in Ethical Choice (Oxford University Press, 1998) and Bioethics and Law: Cases, Materials and Problems (West Publishing Co., 2003).  Dresser has written commissioned papers for the National Academy of Sciences and National Bioethics Advisory Commission.  Since 2002, she has been a member of the President’s Council on Bioethics.

 

Environmental Ethics
Clifford Knapp

Wednesday, April 9, 2008
Plaster Student Union Theater
7 p.m.

Cliff Knapp is a member of the outdoor teacher education faculty at Northern Illinois University’s Lorado Taft Field Campus. He is a tenured, full professor in the Department of Teacher Education and has a special interest in teaching environmental ethics, indigenous cultures, experiential education and human relations skills.