daniels fund ethics initiative uccs 2014 annual report

Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative

2014 Annual Report

September 1, 2014 Dear Daniels Fund,

On behalf of the College of Business at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs, we are pleased to present our fifth annual Ethics Initiative Report. We continue to expand on activities that have prompted increased dialogue about business ethics among our students, faculty, and the business community. The Daniels Fund and the Ethics Consortium have been invaluable with assisting us in our journey. We truly believe that the people, programs, and activities connected to this initiative continue to reflect and further the values and vision of Bill Daniels.

Highlights of the 2013-2014 Academic Year include:

Expansion of Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows from eight to fourteen; Championing student learning in ethics in courses related to accounting, business law, business, government, and society, entrepreneurship, finance, information technology, leadership, management, marketing, and operations. In addition to the College of Business faculty, six faculty from the College of Education, College of Letters, Arts and Science, Entrepreneurship, Engineering, Beth El School of Nursing, and Public Affairs joined the Daniel Fund Ethics Initiative Fellow program.

Increased student engagement at ethics-related speaking events, workshops, seminars and competitions includes students from other colleges on the UCCS campus. Over 74 students participated in national ethics case competitions, the annual UCCS Business Ethics Case Competition, and UCCS Ethics Case Essay Competition.

Greater opportunities for students to understand real-world ethical scenarios in the classroom accomplished through group projects and guest speakers. Business leaders, local government officials, and UCCS alumni served as mentors and judges for competitions and attended various workshops and seminars alongside students. Guest speakers have been well received by the students and community members with attendance exceeding 1,472 at these events.

Ethics in sport remains an emphasis for our campus. Our initiative provides support for nationally recognized sports speakers to emphasize the importance of ethics in the real world for our PGA Golf Management and Sport Management students.

Our focus this past year and for the coming year is to provide ethics instructional training for non-business disciplines at UCCS, as well as community colleges and other higher education institutions in Southern Colorado. Our faculty ethics resource roundtable attendance grew to over 259 attendees, almost double from the past year.

This report outlines the accomplishments and results from September 2013 through August 2014 of our participation in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative as well as our plans for the upcoming academic year.

We are grateful to Linda and Daniels Fund Board of Directors for providing us the opportunity to integrate business ethics in our college, our campus, and our community and further Bill Daniels’ legacy of ethics and integrity.

Best regards,

Venkat Reddy Tracy Gonzalez-Padron Dean, College of Business Director, Ethics Initiative

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACCOMPLISHMENTS & PLANS BY OUTCOME/TACTIC ----------------------------------------------- 1

Student Learning Integrated throughout the Business School -------------------------------------------------------- 1

1. Develop and implement discipline-specific learning objectives, modules, cases, role playing

exercises, storytelling modules, simulations, and assignments for business courses. 1

2. Develop reliable assessment of student learning of business ethics. 2

3. Development of a comprehensive ethical program in the College of Business. 5

4. The ethics champion and designated faculty members work together to lead the initiative. 6

5. Faculty ethics workshops to identify issues and concerns in teaching ethics. 10

6. Utilize distance-learning capabilities to expand reach. 12

7. Develop service-learning project in conjunction with business partners. 12

8. Sponsor case competitions. 13

9. Student seminars and workshops. 13

Involvement of the Business Community ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17

1. Business leaders invited to classrooms, student projects, and judge case competitions. 17

2. Partner to expand ethics education to younger generations. 17

Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 18

1. Participate in Consortium meetings and activities. 18

Outreach to Other Educational Institutions & Community Constituents ------------------------------------------ 19

1. Assist other higher education institutions in Southern Colorado with development of and

sharing of ethics materials. 19

2. Conduct regional workshops/summits for Southern Colorado colleges and universities. 19

Outreach to Non-Business Disciplines on Campus -------------------------------------------------------------------- 20

1. Engage the Chancellor’s Leadership Class and Daniels Scholars as a student conduit for

business ethics dissemination. 20

2. Development of ethics modules and curriculum for non-business classes to introduce business

ethics concepts. 20

3. Participate in campus-wide ethics-related projects; invite non-business faculty and students

to events. 20

PLANS FOR 2014-15 ACADEMIC YEAR ------------------------------------------------------------------- 22

IMPACT OF THE DANIELS ETHICS INITIATIVE ('SO WHAT') ----------------------------------------- 24

1 | D a n i e l s F u n d E t h i c s I n i t i a t i v e a t U C C S 2 0 1 4 R e p o r t

Accomplishments & Plans by Outcome/Tactic

OBJECTIVE 1 Student Learning Integrated throughout the

Business School

The major focus of the UCCS Ethics Initiative is student learning. The majority of funding is allocated to meeting these goals:

Promote the development of ethically responsible students in the College of Business.

Demonstrate the ethical culture in the College of Business.

Identify and support ethical decision-making and ethical leadership components in business courses.

Encourage the development of course materials and new courses that provide the foundations for ethical decision-making and ethical leadership.

Provide opportunities for student activities and recognize student achievement in business ethics.

Encourage student involvement in ethics and ethical leadership on campus.

Encourage student participation in events at other universities and business conferences.

The following are the accomplishments of the Academic Year 2013-2014:

1. Develop and implement discipline-specific learning objectives, modules, cases, role playing exercises, storytelling modules, simulations, and assignments for business courses.

Ethics instruction continues in undergraduate and graduate business and other disciplines. Examples of ethics instruction this academic year are related below:

Business: Accounting Ethics & Institutions (undergrad & grad)

Business: Ethics in Organizational Decision Making & Ethics in Finance (Shared course listing)

Business: Business, Government & Law (undergrad) and Business , Government & Society (Grad)

Business: Build Success in Business – Ethical Module

Freshman Seminar: Build Your Own Business – Ethical Module and material in binders

Philosophy: Practical Ethics (focuses on a case study approach in ethics) and Biomedical Ethics

Communications: New course approved for Spring COMM 4900/6250 New Media Ethics in Organizational and Strategic Communication

Numerous courses are offered with ethical components throughout the campus: Computer Science: (Computing Ethics); College of Education (Vision, Ethics and Leadership in a Democratic Society) and (Issues/Ethics/Trends in Professional Counseling); Psychology (Ethics & Practice: Prof Development), Nursing (Advanced Health Policy, Ethics & Law); Criminal Justice (Ethics in Criminal Justice) and (Criminal Justice Ethics); and Public Affairs (Ethics and Leadership)

Leadership classes tested an ethics curriculum based on original case study "Murder in the Mountains"


Engineering classes include original case by faculty – “The Space Shuttle Challenger: A Case Study in Engineering Ethics”

Integrated Marketing Communication courses include original ethics cases written by faculty

Nursing students explore ethical considerations through service learning projects in collaboration with Colorado Springs and El Paso County community organizations

Statistics classes use a simulation for ethical decision-making

Team-based entrepreneurship classes include section on ethical dimensions in reports to client companies

New Ethics and CSR class in CU system’s EMBA taught by Dr. Tracy Gonzalez-Padron

2. Develop reliable assessment of student learning of business ethics.

We assess student learning of business ethics through internship evaluations, ethical efficacy surveys, class and program assessments and faculty course evaluations.

Internship Professionalism Evaluation. The College of Business Career and Placement Office arranged 201 undergraduate and 6 graduate internships. One was specifically for ethics, and others were with non-profit organizations. Our PGA Golf Management and Sport Management programs participate in international internships. The Sport Management program has strong ties with the Olympic Movement and the English Premier League. Four (one each semester) Sport Management students completed internships with Sunderland AFC and Everton FC in England. All of the interns go through and sign an Ethics Agreement with their employer, as well as the employer getting the Employer Handbook for Internships that has an Ethics section. Though there is no specific section on the ethics evaluation of the student, a professionalism survey is completed by the employer on a 1 to 5 scale with 5 being the highest best possible score.

2013-2014 Average Score

Appearance 4.73 Dress 4.70 Reliability 4.75* Timeliness 4.75* Work ethic 4.82* Followed directions 4.72* Acceptance of feedback 4.67* Respect for others 4.87* Acceptance of diverse groups 4.79* Worked well in groups 4.82*

*denotes improvement over last year

The Daniels Fund Ethical Efficacy Survey. A total of 1007 number of students completed the Ethical Efficacy Survey developed by the consortium in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters. Pre- and post-surveys were compared where approximately 90% were undergraduate students and slightly over 9% were MBA students.


Results of the 2013-2014 academic year are:


Classroom and Program Assessment. The College of Business uses a variety of measures to assess student learning of program-level learning objectives, including business ethics. Currently, we assess student learning of business ethics (along with legal and social issues, CSR, and sustainability) in the following ways:

BS in Business:

Course embedded multiple choice questions in core business courses, including ACCT 2010, BLAW 2000, MGMT 3300 and BUAD 4000.

An ethics case in BUAD 3000: Integrated Skills for Management.

Plan to add an ethics question to the end-of-program exam for fall 2014.

MBA:

Course embedded multiple choice questions in FNCE 6000/6090 regarding agency theory and the legal and ethical responsibilities of financial managers to firm shareholders.

Course embedded measures in MKTG 6000 (an essay exam question) and MKTG 6090 (multiple choice questions) about ethical issues and responsibilities in a marketing context.

Ethical questions will be included in forthcoming program exam. In the summer of 2014 we gave an end-of-program exam to a pilot sample of 15 MBA students in the campus capstone course. The exam included 5 multiple choice questions on business ethics. Overall, students got 65% of the questions correct. Faculty will be reviewing and revising the questions, along with the rest of the exam, in the fall semester. Once revised, we plan to give the exam every semester in the campus and online capstone courses.

Faculty Course Questionnaires (FCQs). FCQs are a standardized evaluation given at the end of each class that are used to enhance learning and to support the faculty evaluation/rewards process. Optional questions are included at the discretion of the college. The College of Business includes a question relating to ethics education for undergraduate and graduate courses. Scores are used to highlight the successful courses/instructors and identify areas for improvement. Findings for 2013-2014 show increases in average ratings from last year for business courses. Findings follow:

Undergraduate students are requested to “Rate how much this course improved your ability to make ethical decisions” on a six-point scale (with six being the highest rating). Results for 2012-13 show that the overall students’ average rating was 3.9, with 68.2% of the respondents rating courses at 4 or higher. The three designated courses with greater emphasis on ethics (Business Law, Business/Government/Law, and Management Organization) had slightly less than 90% of the respondents rating the course at 4 or higher.

MBA students were asked to rate “Improved ability to make ethical decisions” on a six-point scale (with 6 being the highest rating) for each course. Results for 2013-2014 core courses show that overall students’ average rating was 4.3, with 74.9% of the students rating courses at 4 or higher. As with the undergraduate program, three courses (Information Systems, Marketing, and Management) had more than 85% of the respondents rating the course at 4 or higher.

3. Development of a comprehensive ethical program in the College of Business.

Integration of ethics in the curriculum continues with the increase in number of courses with Ethical Focus or Ethical Modules:

o Business: Accounting Ethics & Institutions (undergraduate & graduate)


o Business: Ethics in Organizational Decision Making & Ethics in Finance (Shared course listing)

o Business: Business, Government & Law (undergrad) and Business, Government & Society (Grad)

o Business: Build Success in Business – Ethical Module o Freshman Seminar: Build Your Own Business – Ethical Module and material in binders. o Statistics classes use a simulation for ethical decision-making. o Team-based entrepreneurship classes include section on ethical dimensions in reports

to client companies. o New Ethics and CSR class in CU system’s EMBA taught by Dr. Tracy Gonzalez-Padron.

Student-written original cases and debates on ethical issues include:

o Differences in Ethical Standards between Countries o Cultural and Ethical Challenges for Veterans and their Private Sector Employers o A Case Study in Organizational Ethics: The American Registry of Radiologic Technologists o A Case Study in Radiology Ethics

Coursework included ethical components:

o Guest speakers and business panels provide real-world experience to students o Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Principles part of role play and case analysis rubrics o Simulations with ethical and business consequences o Tools and practice in voicing values integrated in core classes o RealBiz Shorts used in multiple classes

4. The ethics champion and designated faculty members work together to lead the initiative.

Dr. Tracy Gonzalez-Padron has been leading the initiative to date with support from Program Manager Elisabeth Moore, MBA, and one student assistant. Dr. Gonzalez-Padron also taught ethics modules in freshman seminar, observed faculty during student assignments/presentations about ethics, and provided overall assistance to all faculty. 2013-2014 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows continued within the College of Business and expanded to other colleges to include Letters, Arts and Science (LAS), Education, Beth-El Nursing and Health Sciences (Beth-El) Engineering and School of Public Affairs (SPA). Fellows promoted ethics events to their students, attended Faculty Resource Meeting and campus ethics speaker series as schedules allowed. Details for each fellow are:

Albert Batten, PhD (Business), Instructor of Business Analysis

Quan 2010 and Quan 2020 – Included current news articles from newspapers, magazines, or online sources to illustrate the ways writers and public persona either correctly or incorrectly use statistics to prove a point or support their cause. Used the MidWest Jet case study simulation to demonstrate ethical issues can and should affect decision making.

Dustin Bluhm, PhD (Business), Assistant Professor of Management

Development of course materials specifically in-class activity centered on Giving Voice to Values with the action elements that created a self-assessment, developed a series


of mini-cases and a role-play about unethical conduct of peers or co-workers.

Facilitated student developed debate issues that revolve around ethics and the principles set forth by the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative.

Lauren Brengarth, PhD (LAS), Assistant Professor

Course development integrates the student learning experience with real-world cases of new media ethical challenges through the following approaches:

Develop course materials and new courses that provide foundations of ethical decision-

making titled "New Media Ethics in Organizational & Strategic Communication" to appeal

to students from all majors.

Expand and strengthen community and business partnerships for student learning: Encompasses real- world ethical exercises and exposure to business practitioners to shape students' professional ethical practices beyond the classroom and into their post-graduation careers.

Provide opportunities for student activities and recognize student achievement in business ethics: Includes external ethics training and observation through a business ethics seminar, shadow a business leader, or create an external project to extend the learning beyond the classroom.

Mary Ann Cutter, PhD (LAS), Professor Department of Philosophy

Developed a wide variety of educational materials that included: a syllabus for a new course PHIL 3180 “Practical Ethics,”; original case based on a scenario in Colorado Springs; revised case study analysis procedure and the case studies based on Giving Voice to Values; undergraduate ethical extension exercises for PHIL 3180 to compliment Larimer’s “Personal Value Clarification”, Forsyth’s “Ethics Position Questionnaire” and “Thomas-Kilman Conflict Mode Instrument”; and revise Phil 3180, “Practical Ethics,” and prepare it for on-line teaching.

Presented at Freshmen Seminar session an ethics case study “Unreality” and mentored students’ case study analyses for the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Contest.

Katy Cathcart, MCJ (SPA), Instructor

Developed and delivered two 4-hour workshops “Policing and Corrections- Professional Ethics Workshop” during the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 semesters. The focus was on the topic of ethical dilemmas often faced by law enforcement personnel, and strategies for resolution based on application of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative principles.

Developed course material that is now a resource for present and future criminal justice course offered at the UCCS School of Public Affairs. The curriculum includes video scenarios and role-play exercises that present ethical dilemmas in law enforcement environments, recommended strategies for maintaining professional integrity, accountability, and viability during ethical challenges.


Andrew Czaplewski, PhD (Business), Professor of Marketing and International Business

Developed two original IMC cases for use in MKTG 4650. Each case requires students to explore significant ethical issues related to marketing, advertising and IMC overall and lecture materials associated with cases. Case #1 (Fall 2013) Chipotle Green Marketing & Corporate Social Responsibility. Case #2 (Spring 2014) Partnership for a Healthier America & Campaign to End Obesity: Obesity Countermarketing Campaign.

Jeffery Ferguson, PhD (Business), Professor of Service Management and Marketing

Developed course materials applicable to marketing courses. Course materials include: cases, role-plays, presentations and exercises that highlight marketing ethical decision making. Implemented in-class case discussion on the direct-to-consumer presentation. Based on feedback, discussion guides were created for students to facilitate their thinking and engagement with the case.

The end of course project is a marketing plan based on their mini-cases. The ethical decision-making framework was integrated into this assignment.

Corinne Harmon, PhD (Education), Chair Leadership

Ethical case studies that applied the appropriate Daniels Fund Ethical Principles were developed and presented by students in the PhD program in Leadership, Research and Policy in the College of Education were videotaped and are stored in the Kraemer Library at UCCS for use in a variety of classrooms as a teaching and learning resource. Students backgrounds included educators, non-profit CEO’s, Air Force, Military and Navy personnel, ministers, administrators in higher education from two and four year institutions, corrections officials, etc.

Barbara Joyce, PhD (Beth-El), Associate Professor

Development of a service-learning project in collaboration with city government (community centers), local public health department (El Paso County), higher education (UCCS College of Nursing), local non-governmental agencies (NGO’s) and businesses (health care) to provide experiences for nursing students enrolled in N4400 Community Health Nursing. Project implementation will be in fall 2014 will involve 96 hours of field experience for senior nursing students.

Specific outcomes include: 1) Establishment of a Community Collaborative. 2) Development of key stakeholders and task forces representing agencies, institutions and businesses within the community. 3) Development of a joint program which provides opportunity for service-learning related to collaboration and partnership for the purpose of health care equity (fairness), addressing health disparities and viability for the stakeholders. Applies Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Principles to the project.

Produce a collaborative program for service-learning that will provide future health care workers the opportunity to engage and experience the ethics of health care delivery with

underserved populations


Andrew Ketsdever, PhD (Engineering), Engineering Chair/Professor

Disseminated case studies to the entire MAE faculty, to empowered each to teach ethics in their courses instead of relying on only specific (and in some cases elective) courses in the curriculum.

MAE 3040 – Engineering Ethics – summer of 2013 (ethical case studies).

MAE 2200 – Materials – Tacoma Bridge safety accidents, mistakes and ethical problem solving.

MAE 2301 – Thermodynamics – conflict of interest, honesty and truthfulness.

MAE 3130 – Fluid Dynamics – Oil Spills – environmental issues, safety issues and public issues.

MAE 3201 – Strength – Hotel walkway collapse – risk, safety, and ethical problem solving.

MAE 301 – Machine Design – Chernobyl Power Plant – Professional responsibilities for product.

MAE 4000 – MAE Research Seminar - the Space Shuttle Challenger Ethics Case Study covering risk assessment, dissent and whistleblowing.

MAE 4510 – Engineering Design accurate and honest reporting of results and ethical problem solving.

MAE 1502 – Introduction to Engineering –students were introduced to engineering ethic.

David Leupp, PhD (Business), Senior Instructor of Business Analysis

Incorporating a specific ethics project of identifying specific ethical issues within the business they were studying within OPTM 3000 (Fundamentals of Operations Management) classes. In Fall 2013, 19 issues were identified and in Spring 2014 an additional 22 were identified.

Matt Metzger, PhD (Business), Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Developed and implemented class materials to address the role of ethics in entrepreneurial/innovative contexts. The effectiveness of this material was tested using the UCCS Institutional Review Board approved methodology. Subsequently, questionnaires distributed demonstrated statistically significant differences among perceptions concerning several important ethical issues.

As a faculty member of the UCCS Innovation and Entrepreneurship Club, highly encouraged student leadership to explore and embrace ethics as an integral part of their mission.

Gordon M. Stringer, MBA (Business), Instructor of Finance

Developed materials to introduce Blind Spots approach within a financial framework

includes classroom exercises and debate within a case based structure.

Enhancing and improving the “Ethics in Finance” course addressing ethical dilemmas within

the finance discipline and financial framework of the corporation.

o Addressing ethical issues specific to financial management and decision making.

o Addressing practical and professional development of ethical and fiduciary

responsibilities required of a modern financial professional.


Sheri Trumpfheller, MBA,CPA (Business), Senior Instructor Accounting

Developed short answer and multiple choice questions for ACCT2010 and ACCT2020 that focus on the three pillars of fraud (opportunity, motivation, and rationalization). These materials are based on the text book discussion but will go farther than the authors and are available for use by all ACCT2010/2020 instructors and for inclusion in semester-end assessment tools in those courses.

2014-2015 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows

For the coming 2014-2015 academic year, the UCCS Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative selected ten Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows, many returning from the prior year. The program continues to expand campus wide to include faculty members beyond the College of Business.

Lauren Brengarth, PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Communications, Media Ethics Course/Service Learning, College of Letters Arts Sciences

Katy Cathcart, MCJ, Instructor, Criminal Justice, School of Public Affairs

Mary Ann Cutter, PhD, Chair and Professor Department of Philosophy, College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

Andrew Czaplewski, PhD, Chair, Marketing Department, Professor of Marketing and International Business, College of Business

Jeffery Ferguson, PhD, Professor of Service Management and Marketing, College of Business

Barbara Joyce, PhD, Associate Professor - Community Health, Correctional Nursing, Community Collaborative, Beth-El College of Nursing and Health Sciences

Andrew D. Ketsdever, PhD, Engineering Chair/Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, College of Engineering and Applied Science

Matt Metzger, PhD, Assistant Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Management, College of Business

Coleen Stiles, PhD, Co-Director of Strategic Alliances, Bachelor of Innovation™ Degree, College of Business

Pending appointment, College of Education.

5. Faculty ethics workshops to identify issues and concerns in teaching ethics.

Faculty attending teaching ethics workshops, conferences, and seminars in order to provide new techniques, approaches, and the confidence to implement ethical instruction in the classroom.

Fellows Faculty Roundtables were held throughout the academic year and were open to all UCCS COB faculty, selected staff, and invited Pikes Peak Community College and Air Force Academy faculty with the intent to share their best practices, classroom experiences, subject specific course materials, and address specific concerns. Over 240 attendees participated in this opportunity resulting in a 75% attendance increase from last year. Topics were:

“Case Study Approach in Ethics Education: A Suggestion Integrating Theory and Practice”

“Best practices for course content, ethics in the classroom, and handling ethical conduct in the classroom”


“The Story Behind the Story: A Case Study Inquiry into the Prevalence Rate of the Daniels Fund Ethical Principles”

“The Cornucopia of Codes of Ethics – is it part of your diet?”

“Boundary Violations Research - Ethical Issues”

Engineering Ethics – “The Space Shuttle Challenger: A Case Study in Engineering Ethics”

Social Media ethics – A course to address today’s evolving ethical dilemmas

Student Identified Ethics Issues in Business Organizations

Bringing Ethics to Life in the Classroom

Direct to Consumer Advertising of Pharmaceuticals: The Case of Low T

Exploring Ethics Issues in Advertising and Promotions

Practicing Social Justice in a Market Justice World

Figures Don’t Lie, But Liars Sure Figure

Ethics at the Interface – Bridging students’ classroom experience with real-world phenomena

In the fall of 2013, two faculty members and in the spring of 2014 two faculty members enrolled the Business Ethics online certification class hosted by the University of New Mexico Anderson School of Business.

One faculty member and one staff member facilitated and taught the Ethics Module in the freshman seminar for 64 freshman students in the fall 2013 semester.

Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows engaged student participants in the UCCS Ethics Essay writing contest. With the increase in participation from the previous year, plans for a fall 2014 contest are underway and increase participation is expected. Finalist will be announced in December 2014.

One member of our faculty attended the Ethics and Compliance Officers Association Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois in September 2013. This conference provided discussion and learning of real world ethical issues in business.

One faculty member and one staff enrolled and successfully complete the Ethics and Compliance Officer Association ECOA online class called E2C. They are now eligible to take the certificate exam.

Toby Groves spoke to 12 faculty about “The Psychology of Fraud.” He related his ethical fraud experience and demonstrated how easily someone could start down a slippery slope of ethical misconduct, supported by his current research. The follow-up Q&A was lively and introspective.

Steve Priest ethics and compliance professional spoke to faculty and related business leaders about “Tone at the Top” and why individuals justify their unethical behavior workshop for 26 attendees.

Workshop for faculty development on "Religious Sensibilities in Academic Context" was held in February and 55 educators explored the topic and debated strategies. Workshop addressed how to respect and appropriately include religious, value-based perspectives in academic contexts, without excluding others. The values students embody is relevant to how they engage with studies across the board. This is an opportunity for teachers and student support staff to model ethical leadership and ethical decision-making to facilitate inclusive learning.


Faculty worked with Barney Rosenberg, VP of Ethics & Business Conduct for Meggitt Group presenting ethics in business to 3 classroom workshops with College of Business and LAS Communication students.

Fifteen faculty along with students attended Luis Benitez, renowned mountaineer and speaker, workshop for the Chancellor’s Leadership Class about his ethical decision making process through his successes and failures.

Faculty from COB and Philosophy attended the "A Faculty Exchange on the GVV [Giving Voice to Values] Pedagogy, Materials, and Applications."

Three members of our faculty attended the 21th Annual National Character and Leadership Symposium at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado in February 2014.

In partnership with the UCCS Professional Golf Management program, 4 educators attended the speech given by major Dan Rooney addressing ethical experiences and issues as they pertain to that sports industry.

Under the sponsorship by the ethics initiative, 15 faculty were able to hear Frank Vogl, Founder of Transparency International speak about ethics in a global context in May 2014.

Four faculty/staff members and one faculty from Pikes Peak Community College attended the Bill Daniels Business Ethics Workshop hosted by the University of New Mexico and New Mexico State University in Santa Fe, NM in May 2014.

6. Utilize distance-learning capabilities to expand reach.

Blackboard and the Blackboard Content Manager for consistent use of ethics material in on-site and distance classes continues in 2013-2014 Academic year. Over 80 faculty and staff have access to the course material, original cases and debates, grading rubrics, and RealBiz ethics videos.

Integrated Skills in Management course (BUAD 3000) with a Giving Voice to Values component is available online to business majors.

Business, Government and Society (BUAD4000 undergraduate and BUAD 5690 graduate level) incorporates extensive ethics and Giving Voice to Values modules in the UCCS online program.

7. Develop service-learning project in conjunction with business partners.

We encourage student projects with local business organizations to enrich the learning experience through interaction with business leaders. Student projects have already created change in corporate cultures, with organizations making major changes to improve their ethical environments.

Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance - UCCS College of Business students participated in the Colorado Ethics in Business Alliance (CEBA) awards by evaluating and nominating nominees for the Bill Daniels Ethical Business Award, Samaritan, and Daniel L. Ritchie Award. Two MBA students served on the selection committee. Thirty-three students that volunteered to evaluate companies and nominees from across Colorado during the fall 2013 semester. A UCCS student became the student spokesperson for the awards event and explained the process, how it

Also helps meet 2nd objective of “Involvement of the Business Community”


impacted him, and his personal takeaway from the experience to the audience. Two of the UCCS nominees became award winners.

8. Sponsor case competitions.

Participation in national business ethics case competitions and a UCCS business ethics competition resulted in increased student attention and interest in future case competitions.

UCCS Ethics Essay Competition – Over 45 students answered the call for entries for the fall 2013 semester. A panel of 5 outside community leaders were recruited as judges and they selected the final winners who clearly articulated their analysis and presented viable recommendations.

Eller Ethics Case Competition – A team of two undergraduate College of Business students competed in the Eller College of Management 10th Annual Collegiate Ethics Case Competition in Tucson, Arizona.

UCCS Ethics Case Competition – Eight teams of undergraduate business students competed in the 4rd UCCS Business Ethics Case Competition. They presented their recommendations relating to an ethics case to a team of judges composed of local business leaders, politicians, attorneys, and non-profit representatives.

Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition – UCCS College of Business provided ten students the opportunity to participated in the 2014 Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition in Denver, competing with six other universities from Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and New Mexico. This competition exposed students to a thought-provoking business ethics case, one they might encounter in their professional careers. The competition challenged students to make decisions based on principle-based ethical framework. The overall experience with challenges from the case only solidified their understanding of how ethics can defining moment in their coming professional lives along with being extremely proud of their first place finish.

9. Student seminars and workshops.

Student participation in seminars and workshops augments the classroom experience and generates further learning. Student reaction has been vital in our assessment of these events and excerpts from that feedback are included in this report.

NASBA Center for Public Trust Ethical Leadership Certificate Program - 86 students participated in the online ethics course.

Conscious Capitalism, University of Colorado –Two students attended this conference hosted by the University of Colorado Boulder in February 2014. Student feedback: The firms and ideas presented really made me realize how much CESR is part of the business world now and needs to be for the future. The case study exercise made it all real.

Student Center for Public Trust (SCPT) – This year’s emphasis was the video contest where 15 students produced an ethics video. One of the videos was a finalist for the national competition in the public announcement category. In addition, SCPT student s volunteered for Blue Star Recycling event to support an organization that employs adults with disabilities. Two UCCS students went to the 2014 Student Leadership Conference on June 25-27 in St Louis, IL. Student feedback: As a new board member, I have plans to use this year’s leadership training and communication tips to build an ethics seminar/workshop event to engage student across the UCCS campus beyond the College of Business.


US Air Force Academy Character and Leadership Seminar – Four undergraduate UCCS students, and two faculty attended the US Air Force Academy Character and Leadership Seminar that included national speakers on ethics, responsible management, and leadership. Student feedback: In addition to the amazing array of speakers and having the cadet quarters stay provided a unique experience that he recommends to all eligible students.

Barney Rosenberg Workshop VP of Ethics & Business Conduct for Meggitt Group presented “The Ethics Game” for a general student audience followed by 3 classroom workshops with College of Business and LAS Communication students involving 103 attendees. Student feedback: I liked the global perspective he presented. What we in the U.S. would consider a bribe or unethical conduct could be accepted practice in other parts of the world. Hearing him present that aspect made me think about how I would handle an ethical dilemma if I encountered one.

Ludlow Massacre Speaker Series – Perhaps one of the most tragic and striking case studies related to the ethics of labor and corporate relations stems happed 100 years ago in southern Colorado: the Colorado Coalfield Strike and Ludlow Massacre of 1913-1914. With the 100-year anniversary during the 2013-2014 academic year, UCCS had a unique opportunity to explore these events and their ramifications on corporate worker relations, ethical leadership, and the role of business in society. The three events had a combined attendance of 192 persons.

Speaker Maria Montoya, an associate professor of history and the director of undergraduate studies at New York University and is writing a book about company towns and the origins of health insurance for workers in the American West and the World War II-era workers. Student feedback: It has opened my mind up. I now have to consider both sides with openness and try to examine both side’s faults and values.

Speaker Scott Martelle - is a former staff writer for the Los Angeles Times and author of the book Blood Passion: The Ludlow Massacre and Class War in the American West. Student feedback: My participation in this event contributed to my understanding of ethical decision-making by allowing me to view the people of this time in a new manner. When reflecting back on history texts one becomes blinded by the facts and doesn't make the correlation that these too are people who make decisions. The entire ethics talk gave me an overall new understanding of people's choices during difficult times.

Speaker Anthony DeStefanis, author of "The Road to Ludlow: Breaking the 1913-14 Southern Colorado Coal Strike" examined the strategies that the Colorado National Guard used to break the 1913-14 southern Colorado coal strike. These strategies are important for understanding why this strike led to the Ludlow Massacre and, more broadly, why the National Guards were such successful strikebreakers during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Student feedback: This highlights the need for ethical leadership in the military and ethical leadership in the political arena. Without layers of protection, any situation can break down into chaos. The Ludlow Massacre is a prime example of this. In this event, we see a complete breakdown in ethical military leadership with no direct oversight from civilian leaders.

Toby Groves currently a researcher, consultant, and trainer and in his past was convicted of massive bank fraud. He spoke about “The Psychology of Fraud.” He related his ethical fraud experience and demonstrated how easily someone could start down a slippery slope of ethical misconduct, supported by his current research to 51 attendees. Student feedback: My participation in this event has helped me to realize how much awareness one must have about the surrounding environment. I learned how businesses or individuals can


be lulled into complacency and not realize mistakes or short-cuts that have a detrimental impact on the company in the long-term. In my opinion, I believe that if ethical practices are not adhered to in a business, eventually one of two things will happen: (1) You'll lose your business and sully your reputation (2) You'll lose your business, freedom, and sully your reputation.

Steve Priest ethics and compliance professional spoke about “Tone at the Top” and why individuals justify their unethical behavior workshop for 81 students. Student feedback: Getting a civilian business perspective was valuable to me. I spent a number of decades in the military and still think "military" first. This was a refreshing change! I liked how Mr. Priest was able to adjust his comments to the crowd of twenty-somethings as well. Despite having had ethics classes in the past as well as a boat-load of military indoctrination, I took quite a few notes. One topic that really grabbed my interest was the concept of listening. So many of us get in the habit of "waiting for our turn to speak" instead of actively listening to someone. It was a welcomed inclusion. Naturally, his excellent stories of personal experience were timely and added to the presentation.

Ivette Aldana entrepreneur, activist, and the Director of Casa de Cervantes is devoted to transforming the way her country empowers women and disadvantaged groups through fair trade, fair business practices and culture. She spoke about “Fair Commerce and Culture in Guatemala” to 60 attendees. Student feedback: She really added to my understanding of what goes on in other countries and why we should care.

Ethics in Law Enforcement Workshops (Fall 2013 and Spring 2014) Katy Cathcart, Instructor in the School of Public Affairs and Daniel Fund Ethics Initiative Fellow, led a workshop on “Policing and Corrections.” The workshop centered on providing students with steps for evaluating situations to recognize ethical challenges in law enforcement along with expert guest speakers sharing their professional experiences. Each workshop had 35 attendees. Student feedback: The workshop content was absolutely applicable to my current major. Although ethics pertains to every major and walk of life, the priceless information and experiences came from relatable criminal justice academia. The guest speaker provided experiences and lessons that cannot be taught in a classroom.

Professional golf industry speaker for PGM students – Major Dan Rooney founder of Folds of Honor, a non-profit organization that has raised over $22 million and has awarded nearly 4,000 educational scholarships to the family members of soldiers killed or disabled in combat. In his keynote presentations, Rooney tells his inspiring story of combat and serving others while highlighting the importance of faith, teamwork, accountability and finding your life's mission.

"The Economics of Ethics" panel for the members of the Accounting Honor Society and ethics accounting class. Panel presented on the idea that those who rely on accountants demand ethics, therefore we need to supply them, and the implications of accountants not supplying ethics.

Speaker for sports management students and professionals – Steve Holcomb, World Cup titleholder and two-time Olympic medalist in bobsled, spoke about the struggle and ethics of dealing with degenerative eye disease while being a member of the competitive USA Team. His shared the decisions and extremes to hide his condition, to the dangerous levels and the results, and finally to the outcomes from revealing his condition to 117 attendees. Student feedback: “Steven Holcomb’s presentation was an inspiration to persevere through all things. In fact, he left us a quote: "The hardest decision in life, is making the right decision."


Chancellors Leadership Class – There were two speakers this past year, one for each semester. Daniel Epstein founder of the Unreasonable Institute spoke about: The Ethics of Being Unreasonable: Making the Impossible, Possible. He believes entrepreneurship is the answer to the greatest issues we face today and has dedicated his life accordingly .His push is to create a collective family of companies that will, together, address the greatest challenges of our time. Beyond startups, Daniel believes in militant transparency and truthfulness in his everyday life and in all of the projects he is part of. Student feedback: “My participation in this event showed me that there are ethical leaders out there who are very successful. It makes me realize that you can be successful while remaining ethical and sticking to your values. It's not always about getting ahead, but rather about living and letting your values guide you in the direction you want to go.” ”I learned that failure is inevitable and must be embraced; failure just contributes to our growth as responsible, wise, and ethical leaders/ decision-makers.”

Luis Benitez At age 39, Luis Benitez stands among the world’s foremost high altitude mountaineers and Leadership Development consultants. Benitez strives to tie in the lessons available in the mountains to carry back to everyday life and challenges during his keynote presentations and seminars. The message was on his ethical decision making process through his successes and failures. Student feedback: “I loved this presentation! I thought it was very motivational and that he gave great leadership examples. My favorite quote and lesson I learned from this presentation was "Believe in me as much as I believe in you." This quote is perfect when you are leading a group or a project and you have doubts about peoples’ ability to succeed.”

Murder on Nangpa Pass Beta tested curriculum workshop - In September 2006, Luis Benitez witnessed Chinese soldiers shooting at a group of refugees as they fled Tibet. A 17 year-old nun was shot and killed. Benitez made the difficult decision to go to the press against the wishes of his fellow mountaineers and caused a divide in the mountaineering community. The workshop is based off this experience. Testing included students having to deal with different ethical scenarios in an international setting with changing stakeholders and conditions occurring throughout the exercise. Student feedback: I never had to consider ethical problems this quickly – scary.

Frank Vogl Co-founder of two of the world’s leading not-for-profit, non-partisan, anti-corruption organizations Transparency International and The Partnership for Transparency fund spoke to 80 attendees on “Why curbing corruption is vital for business, for democracy and international security.”

Student feedback: “Hearing first-hand the state of ethics around the world. Corruption kills. And there is something that we can do to help.” “The presentation reinforced the concept the ethical practices at every level and at every turn are critical to promoting a more health (sic) and more humane global business world…By having only clean money and only clean, ethical investment/production and exchange, we could restore human dignity and subsistence in powerful ways. It was inspiring to think that something so seemingly simple could have such power for social justice and stability.”


OBJECTIVE 2 Involvement of the Business Community

Note that many of the Student Learning tactics include the business community.

1. Business leaders invited to classrooms, student projects, and judge case competitions.

Panelist for Accounting Ethics Program – In Fall 2013, five local accounting professionals, to include one from law enforcement, joined together in a panel presentation and discussion to share their professional experiences and concerns with students, faculty, staff and the public.

Judges for Ethics Video – An accounting class held its own ethics video competition following the format laid out by the Student Center for Public Trust. Local business leaders were participants in the judging panel. One video was submitted from the class to the national SCPT Ethics in Action video competition.

Judges for Ethics Case Contest – Six leaders from the local community representing both for profit and non-profit organizations, business owners, and former political appointees participated as judges in the Fall 2013 UCCS Ethics Case Competition.

Judges for UCCS Ethics Essay Competition – A panel of five community leaders were recruited as judges to select from the 45 entries the final winners who clearly articulated their analysis of the ethical dilemma and presented viable recommendations.

Advisors for the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition – Professionals from government, private industry, and faculty from the human resource arena volunteered to advise students as they prepared for the third Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Consortium Case Competition in Denver.

Ethics Speaker series for business professionals inclusion – Professionals from across the Colorado Springs business community continue to attend various ethics speaker events and workshops. Partnering community outreach with various entities across the UCCA campus and business professional associations such as the CU Foundation, alumni, Young Professionals and Rising Professionals has developed into robust attendance. More than 360 business attendees have been our guests at these various events.

Alumni Mentoring Program – The practice and understanding of ethical behavior is woven throughout the alumni mentoring program, a structured program for mentors to impart their skills and experiences to UCCS College of Business junior or senior students in order to prepare them to enter the workforce as confident, competent, and ethical professionals. Career Coaches and students meet monthly to discuss professional development topics to include Ethical Decision Making, and the Interview Skills Guide contains questions to ask a potential employer regarding their ethics policy. Additionally, the students and Career Coaches take a field trip to learn about ethics in the workplace. There were 41 alumni and community members involved in the program.

2. Partner to expand ethics education to younger generations.

Judging at the International Business Challenge at Palmer High School Economic Class – Economics at Palmer High School is a semester course required for all graduates of District 11 in


Colorado Springs. As part of the curriculum, global issues addressed include economic development, trade, and ethics. Students approached the assignment from the angle of a Social Entrepreneur to address a social issue in a specific country using an ethical approach. Dr. Tracy Gonzalez-Padron and Elisabeth Moore participated as judges.

Colorado Springs Rising Young Professionals – Dustin Bluhm, Assistant Professor spoke at the Rising Professional event (ages 22- 44) where 65 student attendees heard about “Ethics Your Competitive Advantage – How to Navigate Business Situations Ethically and Come Out Ahead.”

Junior Achievement 21st Century Skills Day – Ethics awareness module was delivered in all student workshops for the K-12 students attendees. Additionally ethics-related keynote speaker Kent Fortune spoke to all 800 student and 150 community leader and educator attendees.

Junior Achievement Chinese Student Exchange – The ethics initiative was involved this inaugural exchange between US and China students. Ethics provided a daylong event around the subject to include a mini ethics case competition. Chinese student feedback comments about the week was they loved the interaction with the competition and enjoyed the discussions because it was very different way of learning from what they are used to. UCCS students learned a new perspective and viewpoint on ethics they had not considered before.

OBJECTIVE 3 Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium

Note that many of the Faculty Development & Course Material tactics in Student Learning involve the Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium.

1. Participate in Consortium meetings and activities.

Dean Venkat Reddy and Dr. Tracy Gonzalez-Padron participated in all the consortium meetings throughout the year.

UCCS faculty has implemented debates and cases provided by the University of New Mexico in Leadership and Business, Government, Society courses seen at consortium-sponsored workshops.

We continue to implement the evaluation instrument developed by the consortium committee.

We continue to post resource materials on the consortium website that includes assignments, syllabi, video, and original cases. We have 24 faculty and staff registered to access materials. Each time an email is received with new material, we forward it to all faculty within the College of Business. We have added in our new Daniels Fund Ethics Initiatives Fellows from outside the college to the group and expanding the reach of the website resources.

Our relationship with the Colorado Ethics Business Alliance continued this year because of our participation with the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative. Our students thoroughly enjoyed this year’s nomination work and look forward to working with the professional organizations on future projects.


OBJECTIVE 4 Outreach to Other Educational Institutions

& Community Constituents

1. Assist other higher education institutions in Southern Colorado with development of and sharing of ethics materials.

Southern Colorado Institutions – Materials developed through the Ethics Initiative were shared this year with Pikes Peak Community College and the US Air Force Academy. Faculty from both institutions is represented at most faculty or community ethics events.

2. Conduct regional workshops/summits for Southern Colorado colleges and universities.

Pikes Peak Community College (PPCC) Professional Development Workshop Week – The second annual workshop addressed faculty confidence in addressing ethical issues in “Teaching Ethics Across the Curriculum”. While many faculty address ethical issues in class, some are not sure how to provide solutions for the students. The barriers for acting ethically are many - including financial profit, competitiveness, and cultural. Ethics is not the primary area of expertise for most instructors. The workshop focused around using ethical case studies in the classroom was held in August 2013 with 22 attendees.

PPCC and AFA at Ethics Resource Roundtable Events – PPCC and Air Force Academy professionals were invited guests to all the Ethics Faculty Resource Luncheons held throughout the 2013-14 academic year. Many PPCC and AFA faculty attended and plans include inviting them to the 2014-15 academic year’s roundtable events.

Participation in Ethics Events – Many of the ethics speakers and workshops included faculty and students from PPCC, AFA, and Denver Metro College.

Business Ethics – Teaching Business Ethics Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico – The Ethics Initiative supported Pikes Peak Community College faculty member Richard Trussell, Chair of the Philosophy Department to attend the workshop, Business Ethics: Education and Organizational Best Practices class in May 2014.


OBJECTIVE 5 Outreach to Non-Business Disciplines

on Campus

1. Engage the Chancellor’s Leadership Class and Daniels Scholars as a student conduit for business ethics dissemination.

The Chancellor’s Leadership Class has embraced the Ethics Initiative. The Ethics Initiative coordinates with the Chancellor’s Leadership Class for event participation and cosponsors ethics speakers that included Daniel Epstein and Luis Benitez for the fall 2013 semester and spring 2014. The leadership classes tested an ethics curriculum based on original case study "Murder in the Mountains".

2. Development of ethics modules and curriculum for non-business classes to introduce business ethics concepts.

Engineering classes include original case by faculty – “The Space Shuttle Challenger: A Case Study in Engineering Ethics”.

New Social Media ethics course to address today’s evolving ethical dilemmas.

Integrated Marketing Communication courses include original ethics cases written by faculty.

Nursing students explore ethical considerations through service learning projects in collaboration with Colorado Springs and El Paso County community organizations.

Workshops on “Policing and Corrections.” The workshop centered on providing students with steps for evaluating situations to recognize ethical challenges in law enforcement.

Philosophy: Practical Ethics (focuses on a case study approach in ethics) and Biomedical Ethics

Communications: New course approved for Spring New Media Ethics in Organizational and Strategic Communication

Numerous courses offered with ethical components: Computer Science: (Computing Ethics); College of Education (Vision, Ethics and Leadership in a Democratic Society) and (Issues/Ethics/Trends in Professional Counseling); Psychology (Ethics & Practice: Prof Development), Nursing (Advanced Health Policy, Ethics & Law); Criminal Justice (Ethics in Criminal Justice) and (Criminal Justice Ethics); and Public Affairs (Ethics and Leadership)

3. Participate in campus-wide ethics-related projects; invite non-business faculty and students to events.

The UCCS Ethics Case Competition included as many non-business majors as business majors, displaying a large interest in applied ethics.

The faculty from non-business disciplines participated in a number of student and faculty workshops.

Ethics awareness through selfies and flip-flops – Coordinated between COB media specialists and the UCCS Marketing Club, custom designed flip-flops with the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative logo and tag line were distributed. Students were encouraged to send in selfie photos to show


where they “went with ethics”. In September 6,000 Daniel Fund Ethic Initiative flip-flops were distributed campus wide with the winning photo receiving a gift card for books.


Plans for 2014-15 Academic Year

Student Learning Integrated throughout the Business School and across the UCCS campus

Develop continuous assessment and reporting of ethical components in all business courses.

Include ethics in forthcoming program evaluation in business capstone course.

Provide opportunities for faculty networking and learning (i.e. “Faculty Resource Workshops” on a particular ethic related topic and ethic topic related conference attendance).

Promote multimedia resources such as simulations and RealBiz short videos.

Develop course materials and new courses that provide foundations of ethical decision-making and ethical leadership.

Continue to develop material to integrate ethics in courses throughout the campus through Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows.

Develop cases, debates, roleplaying exercises, simulation games, PPT, or assignments.

Promote the Blackboard Learning Organization as a repository of course materials.

Provide opportunities for student activities and recognize student achievement in business ethics.

Encourage student involvement in ethics and ethical leadership events on campus.

Co-sponsor student organization events (i.e. Speakers, workshops).

Encourage student participation in events at other universities and business conferences.

Participate in the Eller Case Competition (University of Arizona), Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Case Competition, and other national case competitions.

Expand the UCCS Business Ethics Case Competition beyond the college of business and invite community college and the Air Force Academy to attend.

Encourage student participation in the Ethics Essay writing competition from all UCCS colleges.

Involvement of the Business Community

Expand and strengthen community and business partnerships for student learning.

Promote and support student nominations for the BBB GE Johnson Marketplace Ethics Award, awards at UCCS, and other higher education institutions.

Create service-learning opportunities – for classes, student organizations, or internships (i.e. Colorado Springs Rising Professionals, Blue Start Recyclers, Aspen Point, etc.).

Offer speaker events to the students and community for ethical dialogue and networking.

Outreach to Other Educational Institutions & Community Constituents

Establish UCCS COB as a resource for higher education institutions and businesses.

Implement a new and interactive website for the UCCS Ethics Initiative that will provide resources and contact information for the public.

Support for the Junior Achievement 21st Century Skills program in January 2015.

Expand on ethics training for businesses offering internships and for student interns to campus-wide intern programs.

Organize a community partnership group/event to encourage and respond to opportunities.

Offer teaching business ethics workshops to Community Colleges and other higher education institutions.

Represent UCCS College of Business at national conferences relating to ethics instruction.

Continue to support faculty at Southern Colorado colleges for their students to participate in state and national competitions and student projects, by providing guidance and materials.


Outreach to Non-Business Disciplines on Campus

Continue to expand Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows and curriculum grants beyond College of Business.

Invite/co-sponsor speakers and workshops with other colleges and departments (i.e. Women’s and Ethnic Studies, Geography Studies, Leadership & Communications, Engineering, Nursing).

Continue to foster ethics awareness in non-business classes.

Initiate inclusion of ethical material, processes, and evaluation in internship programs campus-wide.

Starting in the January 2015, the Student Success office is launching UCCSlead, a new student leadership development program which can be broadly accessible to a larger student population at UCCS. o Vision: To develop engaged and ethical world-changing leaders.

o Mission: Through comprehensive training, development, and experience, we will seek to inspire and equip UCCS students with leadership character and skills to become impactful leaders on campus and community shapers upon graduation.

o The guiding principles for the faculty, staff, and students of UCCSlead are:

Engagement – Actively participate and establish a meaningful connection to real world leadership experiences.

Integrity – Be honest and trustworthy; guided by strong moral principles as you positively impact others.

Innovation – Pursue creativity, dream big, and seek solutions to complex issues.

Commitment – Dedicate yourself entirely to leading with purpose and excellence.


Impact of the Daniels Ethics Initiative ('So What') In this section we will explore the question “so what” is the impact of the Daniels Ethics Initiative at our university and beyond by looking at the accomplishments since the inception of the initiative.

The UCCS College of Business Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative has made an enormous impact on the students, faculty, staff, local educational institutions of higher learning and our local business community. Many of the outcomes are difficult to quantify, and the following discussion hopes to explain aspect of our accomplishments. The ethics initiative has impacted the culture of the College of Business in a significant way. Our Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows have been instrumental in spreading the principle-based ethics model to teaching associates and students. The grant has funded a wide variety of events that have explored ethical experiences for students, faculty, staff and community attendees that they may have not heard or considered before. The educational lessons created will have far reaching impact beyond the classroom as students move forward in their professional lives and businesses hire our graduates. This begs the question - How do we know this?

Through careful data collection on many levels we have quantitative data showing a shift of ethical understanding. At the classroom level, we have tracked the success of various exercises, literature selections, case study analysis results, classroom presentation impacts, syllabus content, etc. That data continues to be collected and has help guide us for moving forward with best practices across campus. With so many different subjects being taught, we have only scratched the surface for business ethics integration across the UCCS campus. There is still much to be accomplished.

On the campus level, we have seen continued growth in attendance of ethics events by students, faculty and community members, having an impact beyond those participating. Using attendance numbers as a measure omits those who learn about ethics in an indirect manner through discussions and in observing others. We have heard from faculty that students are no longer uninformed when ethics becomes a topic in the classroom. One long time faculty member reported that his senior year students are now well versed in ethics. He can guide ethical discussions to levels he has not been able to before because he no longer needs to establish a foundation in ethical decision-making. Case competitions created a buzz among students. Students share with faculty and staff how ethics events helped with gaining personal confidence, finding their ethical compass, obtaining internships, preparing for job interviews, and with job searching. We have had judges ask participants to seek them out when they graduate and are ready to work, pass their business cards to students for further discussions, encourage specific careers that could benefit from this expertise, and explain how this program has made them more desirable employees – all of which has reaffirmed to attendees the benefits ethics can bring to their coming professional lives. Those that have attended events freely give their feedback and share the message to their colleagues. These events are not possible without the support of the grant.

Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Fellows share outcomes with their peers at UCCS and beyond - including: best practices in the classroom, curriculum development, case studies developed, and results from outreach programs. Over the last year alone, over 300 faculty from UCCS and other schools have benefited from this information sharing. The momentum from ethics is growing among the faculty and instructors. Those that have requested have participated in ethics education workshops and online courses. Engaging Deans and faculty from other colleges had heightened awareness of the importance of business ethics education. No matter what the field, we are all intertwined and success is as much a


group effort as it is a singular success. Without the grant the growth of ethical educational materials, ethics knowledge, and successful implementation practices would not have been possible.

The Student Center for Public Trust (SCPT) began in the College of Business and is now poised and ready to grow campus-wide. We seek to support their campus efforts of ethical leadership through events, engaging our community leaders in the program and mentoring. Any opportunity to engage students in the importance of being ethical will be explored and considered. Getting that message out to our unique over extended working student population is challenging. What we do know is students who have participated readily participate in outreach events. We had several SCPT members assisting with an international outreach summer program through presenting an ethics lesson and running a mini ethics case competition with high school students from China. An opportunity they would never had if they had not been part of the program. It is our intent to continue to have our students seek out ethics opportunities while being engage with their peers, the business community, and the next generation on a local, national and international level.

The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative website had been a collaboration that provides depth and resources beyond what UCCS has currently developed. This close relationship provides for consideration ethics speakers, cases, video resources, and curriculum materials that widen the spectrum of possibilities for UCCS faculty. Our college has recently grown to a team of 43 full-time faculty, and 35 part-time faculty all of which are eligible to access the website. Without the support of the grant this crucial dependable up-to-date resource would not be available.

We seek any opportunity to demonstrate our commitment for principle-based education to our local community. These opportunities increase awareness of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at UCCS for the purpose of sharing the outcomes and impact on our students. We have increased awareness and support for the program from our business community, local government, community associations, non-profits, and alumni. We engage our business leaders (young and established) to realize the long term financial success ethical practices bring by demonstrating our continuing commitment to providing our students with principle based ethics tools for successful futures. The grant has been singularly responsible for this.

Concluding Remarks

We wish to express our appreciation for the Daniels Fund Board of Directors, leadership and staff in providing the necessary funds for these programs, by including the University of Colorado Colorado Springs in the Daniels Fund Ethics Consortium.

As we conclude the fifth year of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative on the UCCS campus, we are very pleased with the progress we have made towards promoting a high standard of ethics in our future generation of leaders. Great leaders develop with support from strong educators. We have placed significant focus on increasing faculty knowledge and skills in ethics education. Faculty within our university along with peer institutions have worked together to develop new curriculum while collaborating to learn best practices on classroom presentation.

With our progress, we also know there is much work to be done for lasting results. Our collective, measurable impact is made with every graduating student, visiting business leader, educational and community peer we are able to make a meaningful connection with. Throughout the past years of this initiative, UCCS has been able to connect with over 28,000 people spreading Bill Daniels message of principle-based ethics decision making.


Significant and wise ethical conclusions are often very personal and the culmination of many small decisions made with integrity over the course of time. To make lasting impact translating to the application of ethics in the real-world business community, continued focus in ethics education is necessary.

We want to continue to serve as the regional leader in ethics education through collaboration with the Daniels Fund and welcome the opportunity to further discuss ongoing support which will have long-lasting impact in our community, the state of Colorado and nation. We welcome the continued presence of the Daniels Fund and all that it brings to our campus in future years.

We are in the business of building

successful futures. ™

1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80918-373, 719-255-8227, 1-800-990-8227

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