Ethics
At the Culverhouse College of Commerce, we take ethics seriously. Ethical issues are considered throughout the business curriculum, and we expect students to engaged in examination and practice of ethics inside and outside of the classroom. See the link to Ethics in Action for recent examples.
Ethics Advisory Committee
While most of our faculty members include ethics content in their courses, the College's formal ethics program is coordinated by an advisory committee. The Advisory Committee coordinates special ethics programs, the certificate in ethics and social responsibility, and provides recommendations to the faculty and dean concerning the College's ethics curriculum. Members of the 2011-2012 Ethics Advisory Committee include:
| Dept. of Management & Marketing | |
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Professor William E. Jackson III, Ph.D. Professor of Finance, Professor of Management, The Smith Foundation Chair of Business Integrity |
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| Culverhouse School of Accountancy | |
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Professor F. Todd DeZoort, Ph.D. Professor of Accounting & Accounting Advisory Board Fellow |
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| Dept. of Information Systems, Statistics & Management Science | |
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Professor Charles P. Schimdt, Ph.D. Professor of Operations Management |
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| Dept. of Economics, Finance & Legal Studies | |
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Professor Robert W. McLeod, Ph.D. Professor of Finance and John S. Bickley Faculty Fellow in Insurance and Finance |
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| C&BA Academic Honor Council | |
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Mr. Hill Johnston Chief Justice, Culverhouse College of Commerce Academic Honor Council |
Special Ethics Programs
Certificate in Ethics and Social Responsibility
Students in the College can earn a Certificate in Ethics and Social Responsibility. The Certificate program provides a mechanism for encouraging greater student involvement in ethics and social responsibility issues. The ultimate goal of the program is to help students become more attuned to the ethical dimensions of their daily decisions through the activities required to attain this certificate.
Additional information about the Certificate is available here.
J. Craig Smith Business Ethics Lecture Series
The College sponsors an annual lecture series. The series provides an opportunity for students to hear from individuals involved in business ethics issues about their experiences as they have attempted, and sometimes failed, to engage in ethical business practices.
Upcoming and previous speakers include:
The Honorable Drayton Nabers, Jr. - March 28, 2012
The Honorable Drayton Nabers, Jr. is a former Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court (2004 - 2007). Mr. Nabers served as General Counsel at Protective Life Corporation until his appointment there as President, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Board. Following his retirement in 2002, Mr. Nabers was appointed by Governor Bob Riley Finance Director of the State of Alabama, an office in which he served until his 2004 appointment to the Supreme Court. Mr. Nabers, member of the Board of Directors at ProAssurance Corporation and Lead Independent Director at Infinity Property & Casualty Corporation, is currently in private practice at the law firm Maynard Cooper & Gale P.C., where he is a shareholder and focuses on alternative dispute resolution, appellate law, complex litigation, governmental and regulatory affairs, and insurance and financial services litigation.
Mr. John A. Allison IV - April 12, 2011, Alston Hall
Click here to watch the video of Mr. Allison's lecture.
John A. Allison IV is Retired Chairman and CEO of BB&T Corporation, the 10th largest financial services holding company headquartered in the United States. He became President of BB&T in 1987 and was elected Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in July 1989. During Mr. Allison's tenure as CEO from 1989 to 2008, BB&T grew from $4.5 billion to $152 billion in assets. In March 2009, he joined the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Business as Distinguished Professor of Practice.
The Honorable Alice H. Martin - April 6, 2010, Alston Hall
Click here to watch the video of Mrs. Martin's lecture.
Alice H. Martin served as the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama for eight years. As North Alabama's chief federal law enforcement officer, Mrs. Martin supervised all federal criminal investigations and prosecutions as well as all civil litigation involving the federal government. Prior to completing her tenure last June, Mrs. Martin lead significant cases involving Eric Robert Rudolph, the $5 billion accounting scandal investigation of HealthSouth Corp., and over 130 public corruption prosecutions including the convictions of former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford, five of six Jefferson County Commissions involving the Jefferson County sewer construction, Alabama State Senators and Representatives, and former Chancellor Roy Johnson of the Alabama Department of Postsecondary Education. She served on the select Attorney General's Advisory Committee and created a University Certified Leadership Academy.
Walt Pavlo - March 25, 2009, Ferguson Theater
Walter Pavlo Jr. is a nationally recognized speaker on white-collar crime. His audiences have included the FBI, Fortune 500 corporations, leading accounting and law firms and professional societies. A former mid-level MCI Communications executive, Walt pleaded guilty to embezzling $6 million from his employer and served two years in federal prison. His cautionary tale about his slide from respected manager to convicted felon has been featured in Forbes, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, on National Public Radio and ABC's Nightline. Walt teamed up with Forbes Senior Editor Neil Weinberg to co-author Stolen Without A Gun, an in-depth account of his former life of crime. (from http://www.etikallc.com)
Cynthia Cooper - April 23, 2008, Ferguson Theater
Cynthia Cooper is most well-known for her role in uncovering the corporate fraud at WorldCom - to date the largest corporate fraud in history. She was named one of Time Magazine’s 2002 Persons of the Year after detecting and reporting the fraud. She is also the author of a book about her experience, called Extraordinary Circumstances: The Journey of a Corporate Whistleblower. Ms. Cooper previously served as the Chief Audit Executive for MCI until July 2004. Prior to joining MCI, she worked in public accounting in Atlanta, Georgia for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Deloitte & Touche. Ms. Cooper received her undergraduate degree in Accounting from Mississippi State University and her Masters of Accountancy from the University of Alabama.
Personal Code of Ethics
A personal code of ethics encourages students to consider and communicate who they are, what they believe, why they believe what they believe, and how they will integrate these elements in their professional development, business relationships, and management of ethical and character challenges. This program provides a formal opportunity for all students to consider and develop their own personal rules and standards governing their conduct, the way they live their lives, and the way that they make their decisions. Students registered in GBA 145 beginning in the spring of 2009 will be required to develop a personal code of ethics. The codes will be used as part of class exercises in specific courses taken by students at the junior and senior level.
Business Ethics Essay Competition
To encourage The University of Alabama campus community to always act according to the values of the Capstone Creed and to spotlight those students who continually demonstrate an outstanding commitment to integrity and ethics both inside and outside of the classroom, the C&BA Academic Honor Council, in collaboration with the J. Craig Smith Endowed Chair of Business Integrity, annually hosts the Business Ethics Essay Competition. The Competition is open to any and all students at the Culverhouse College of Commerce. Winners of the Competition receive several awards, including monetary prizes, and are invited to the annual Business Ethics Awards Dinner, where they are given the opportunity to meet and network with faculty, administrators, and distinguished guests from the corporate community.
For more information about the Competition, visit the C&BA Academic Honor Council's webpage.
Academic Honor Council
The University of Alabama Academic Honor Council was established as a means of providing student voices in matters related to academic integrity. The Council is an appellate and judicial body comprised of student justices who strive to promote an atmosphere of integrity on campus. The Council exists under The University's expectation that all students are to be honorable and to observe standards of conduct appropriate to a community of scholars.
For information about the Culverhouse College of Commerce Academic Honor Council, please visit its website.