Two Program Series Provide Opportunities for Students to Lead and Practice Moral Discourse

The Mann Center sponsors two innovative program series where Samford students and faculty model and practice civil, moral discourse about the big questions facing individuals and society.

The newest of these, the center's Better World Theater project, debuted Dec. 6 to an enthusiastic audience of students and faculty who filled the Bolding Studio theater.  Two short theatrical productions, produced and performed by nine students in the Brock School of Business, were designed to raise issues about ethics in the workplace.  The performers then led the audience in a lively, thought-provoking discussion.

Better World Theater is a collaborative venture of the Mann Center and the university's Department of Theater and Dance.  Future productions will involve students and audiences in other fields of study, such as nursing, education, law or journalism.  The project is intended to develop students' ethical awareness and competencies in leading peer-to-peer dialog.  Its name reflects the concluding words of Samford's vision statement: "The world will be better for it." 

Meanwhile, the Courageous Conversations series continued in November with a discussion of freedom of expression. Student and faculty panelists led a discussion with approximately 120 students on the theme, "Can we talk about it?" Participants considered how well the university community accommodates diverse viewpoints on often-difficult issues like race, homosexuality and religion. The program began with a presentation by the chaplain of Belmont University who shared lessons from his institution after a highly publicized conflict following the resignation of a lesbian coach.

The purpose of Courageous Conversations is to foster moral discourse on the issues "we know we need to discuss, but know we are not discussing." Past topics have included sexual health, pornography, academic cheating, and responsibilities in social networking.

New Initiatives Promote Academic Integrity

With academic cheating on the rise at colleges and universities worldwide, the Mann Center has initiated a series of projects to promote academic integrity at Samford.  A spring 2011 survey of the campus, conducted with assistance from the International Center for Academic Integrity, found significant gaps between student and faculty attitudes about cheating.  Among these were disparate views regarding the seriousness of various types of academic dishonesty.

In response, the Mann Center is meeting with faculty and student groups across the university to share the research findings and discuss strategies for reducing cheating.  Planned educational projects involve the University Library, Student Affairs, New Student Orientation, Faculty Senate, and others.  New sections of the center's website provide resources for students and for faculty, including research and best practices from other institutions.

These efforts will be assisted by a newly appointed Student Advisory Council on Academic Integrity comprising representatives with diverse majors and interests.  Members of the 2011-12 council are Lydia Nace (Sophomore/History), Jordan Valdez (Sophomore/Nursing), Paizley Coffey (Junior/Education), Sarah Waller (Junior/Journalism and Mass Communicaitons), Jennifer Nelson (1st Year/Pharmacy), Caroline Noland (Senior/Business), Tom Oliver (Senior/Political Science), Mandy Liu (Senior/Music).

Call for Nominations: 'Mann Medal in Ethics & Leadership' Honoring an Inspiring Agent of Change

Samford University awards the Mann Medal in Ethics & Leadership to nationally or internationally known leaders or organizations whose efforts have made significant contributions to a more just and ethical society.  The work recognized with the award must address a clear need or problem facing society, have significance on a large scale and be an inspiring example for others to follow.

Nominees for the Mann Medal may be from any field of endeavor.  Please fill out the nomination form or contact Ms. Azalea Hulbert, program manager, at 205.726.4634 or amwhitco@samford.edu.

Other Recent Projects and Programs

The Mann Center provides programs and presentations to a variety of public audiences worldwide.  Following are recent speeches by Dr. John Knapp, the center's director:

Lebanese Society for Education and Development - keynote speech at Lebanese American University (Beirut) for an annual conference of teachers, administrators and community leaders, and a conference session on the moral development of students at Middle East University.  During this visit, Dr. Knapp met with Lebanon’s Minister of Education and Higher Education Dr. Hassan Diab, and was interviewed by several Lebanese news organizations.

Investment Management Consultants Association - final session in a national series for professional wealth managers.  The seven programs addressed professional ethics and public trust in the context of the global financial crisis.

Consortium for Global Education - featured speaker for CGE's annual membership meeting of representatives of more than 40 participating colleges and universities.

Motion Industries - keynote speech for the corporate annual meeting of 1,000 managers and supplier representatives.  Motion Industries is a part of Genuine Parts corporation.

Alabama Society of Certified Public Accountants - presentation to the annual conference of collegiate accounting instructors on effective methods for teaching ethics.

Dr. Knapp's newest book, How the Church Fails Businesspeople (and What Can Be Done about It), is previewed in a three-part blog by Wm. Eerdmans Publishing Co. - part 1: Introduction and overview; part 2: Devaluing everyday work; part 3: One pastor's story.

Samford Student Team Develops Strategies for Micro-Enterprise Program in South Africa

The Mann Center recently organized a six-week service practicum in South Africa, where students from Samford's Brock School of Business worked at a micro-enterprise center that creates economic opportunities in townships where much of the country's poverty is concentrated. The project was conducted in collaboration with Living Way, a non-profit organization that empowers the poor with "meaningful opportunities to earn a decent living" through job training and small business development. 

The student team conducted research and worked on site at the center near Cape Town to develop strategies and methods for better training outcomes.  Team leader Kley Sippel called the project "a capstone experience for my business education," explaining that it "expanded my network internationally, increased my cultural literacy, and provided an opportunity for undergraduate research – all fulfilling goals of mine since freshman year and better equipping me for graduation."

The Mann Center continues to partner with Stellenbosch University in South Africa in a new program to develop student leaders as agents of positive change.  Cadres of students at Samford and Stellenbosch are studying together via live videoconferences and networking on a Facebook group.  In January 2012 Dr. John Knapp will take a class of Samford students to Stellenbosh for three weeks of study about the social and economic challenges facing contemporary South Africa.

Mann Center Director Visits North Korean University, Gives Talk on Ethical Leadership

Mann Center Director John Knapp was with a small group of educators who visited North Korea's Pyongyang University of Science and Technology in July.  During a five-day itinerary, he spoke to the university's leaders and graduate students about the role of higher education in developing ethical leaders.  In a lecture entitled, The University as a Community of Moral Formation,  he focused on such leadership qualities as commitment to the common good of all citizens and openness to collaboration with others in global society.

The mission was organized by the Consortium for Global Education to explore opportunities for interaction with this new institution in North Korea, especially in support of humanitarian efforts.  While traveling in Asia, Dr. Knapp also visited Beijing, where he met with an official at the U.S. embassy to discuss opportunities for university partnerships in China.

Recent Projects and Programs of the Mann Center

Findings of the Samford Survey on Academic Integrity, conducted last spring, are now being used to evaluate the university's effectiveness in promoting ethical standards for academic work.  The university-wide survey of students and faculty examined practices, experiences and perceptions regarding multiple types of cheating.  Conducted in collaboration with the International Center for Academic Integrity, the survey has been used by nearly 200 colleges and universities in the United States, making it possible to analyze Samford's findings in comparison to others.  During the fall semester, the Mann Center will use the findings to assist other academic units in strengthening academic integrity.

In addition to its role on the Samford University campus, the Mann Center offers a range of year-round programs and services for external organizations and the general public.  Some examples from this summer include:

The Mann Medal in Ethics and Leadership - Awarded to Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship, at a community luncheon in July.  Intended to recognize contributions to a better society, the medal recognized Colson's three decades of international work on behalf of prisoners and their families, including advocacy for penal reform.  Nominations are now being accepted for the 2012 medalist. 

Ethics Education for Financial Advisors - Dr. John Knapp is leading seven national seminars this year for professionals in the Investment Management Consultants Association, provider of the CIMA designation.

Alabama Association of Nonprofits - Dr. John Knapp led a seminar on ethics and public trust for non-profit executives.  It was simulcast to three meeting sites across the state.

Ethics Resources and Research

What do the world's religions teach about ethics?  Two online centers offer useful resources.  Globethics.Net online library on religious ethics includes collections from a wide range of traditions: Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Islamic, Buddhist, Confucian, Hindu and Jewish.  The Markkula Center for Ethics at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution in California's Silicon Valley, has resources on ethics in 10 regions, 35 countries, and all the world's major religions. The information is designed for use by diplomats, students, teachers, businesspeople and others seeking deeper cultural understanding.

With the approaching 10th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, a new study finds that Muslim Americans identify as strongly with the United States as they do with their faith.  However, they are somewhat less likely than U.S. Protestants and Mormons to identify "extremely" or "very" strongly with the U.S.  Muslim Americans are also more likely than other religious groups to oppose military violence against civilians.  These are a few findings of Muslim Americans: Faith, Freedom, and the Future, research project of the Gallup Organization's Abu Dhabi Center.

Are recent political sex scandals an indication that public officials have lower moral standards than other Americans?  Not according to a majority of respondents in a recent study by Pew Center for People and The Press.   Nearly six in ten Americans said politicians just get caught more often because they are subjected to greater scrutiny than most people.  Only 19 percent attributed such scandals to lower standards, with many of these respondents believing that power tends to corrupt those who attain public office.

Ninety-five percent of Americans oppose the banking of human tissue samples without patients' informed consent.  Patient privacy ranks high among their concerns, says an article by University of Iowa researchers in the journal, Genetics of Medicine.  "Active Choice But Not Too Active: Public Perspectives on Biobank Consent Models," examines ethical questions about how samples are collected and used for research, including genetic research.

Americans see Wall Street as essential but think it is run by dishonest, greedy people, according to a poll by Harris Interactive.  More than eight in ten adults believe Wall Street firms should be subject to tougher regulation; 64 percent disagree with the claim that what is good for Wall Street is good for the country; and 70 percent believe people on Wall Street are less honest and moral than other Americans.

Prison Fellowship Founder Charles Colson to Receive Mann Medal in Ethics and Leadership

Charles Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship and longtime advocate of penal system reform, will be honored on July 18 with the Mann Medal in Ethics and Leadership, Samford University's recognition of significant contributions to a more just and ethical society.
 
Mr. Colson was special counsel to President Richard Nixon for four years before serving seven months in federal prison on Watergate-related obstruction of justice charges.  His incarceration at Alabama's Maxwell Prison changed his life and inspired him to found Prison Fellowship, a ministry that now includes services for convicts, victims of crime, and justice officers. His work on behalf of prisoners has now expanded to 200 countries, he is the author of several books,and his daily radio feature, BreakPoint, airs on 1,000 stations.

The luncheon honoring Mr. Colson will be at Birmingham's Harbert Center.  There is no charge for this event and reservations will be taken on a first-come basis.  Click here for details and online registration.

The Mann Medal was designed by world-renowned artist Malcolm Grear, whose work includes athletes' medals for the Olympic Games.

News and Views

Sleep deprivation can make you less ethical, so says a study in a forthcoming issue of Academy of Management Journal.  Scholars at the University of North Carolina and the University of Arizona conducted research with nurses and college students and concluded that lack of sleep contributed to unethical behavior including rudeness and attempts to take more money than they had earned.  They theorize that sleep deprivation impairs brain functioning in the prefrontal cortex, an area crucial to decision making, emotional control and other behavioral functions.  The implications may be especially relevant to leaders whose schedules, travel patterns and international communications keep them from getting adequate sleep.  Related resource: Financial Times article.

Are human subjects adequately protected in federally funded research projects?  The Obama administration's Commission on for the Study of Bioethical Issues met last week to discuss this question, with some experts arguing that Institutional Review Boards (IRBs) are more concerned with regulatory compliance than ethics.  Too often missing from the review process, they said, is meaningful discourse about important issues, such as obtaining truly informed consent.  IRB approval is required at universities, private laboratories and other institutions where research involves human subjects.  Related resource: Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues.

In another indication of the decline of marriage as a foundational institution of American society, a new study by the Pew Research Center finds that the 18- to 29-year-old Millennial generation values parenthood far more than marriage.  More than half of Millennials believe "being a good parent 'one of the most important things' in life," but only 30 percent say the same about having a successful marriage.  These attitudes are reflected in the fact that "young adults today are slower to marry than were their counterparts in older generations. Just 22 percent of Millennials are currently married. . . but when Gen Xers were the same age that Millennials are now, some three-in-ten of them were married, as were more than four-in-ten Baby Boomers and more than half of the members of the Silent Generation (ages 65 and older)."  Related resource: Pew Research Center study.

The American Economic Association has appointed an Ad Hoc Committee on Ethical Standards for Economists, prompted largely by concerns about the relationships of influential academic economists to powerful financial firms.  Such ties may constitute serious conflicts of interest that compromise economists' ability to render objective advice and opinions.  Members of the AEA have long opposed attempts to establish ethical standards of practice, arguing that economics is concerned strictly with empirical, objective inquiry involving no value judgments.  Others point out that because AEA members are not licensed, the organization would have no means of enforcing a code of ethics if one were adopted.  Related resource: article in Chronicle of Higher Education.

An Ironic Legacy of Egypt's Mubarak Regime: Improvements in Social, Legal Status of Women

John C. Knapp, professor and director of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership, was invited to Cairo in 2009 by former Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak to participate in a series of discussions about social justice for women.  He gave a keynote presentation on the moral foundations of democracy to a gathering of 700 women representing local communities across Egypt, and was the only male speaker on an international panel moderated by Ms. Mubarak.  Recently he gave a talk reflecting on this facet of the Mubarak legacy in the aftermath of the popular uprising that ousted the regime from power.  Here is an excerpt:

Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule of Egypt was at once a stabilizing influence in a volatile region and an authoritarian, often repressive, regime at home.  Mubarak and some members of his family are now under arrest, accused of financial corruption and bloodty attacks on protesters,

Thus it may now seem ironic that former First Lady Suzanne Mubarak founded and led a movement that elevated the status of Egyptian women in recent years.  The National Council for Women, which she formed in 2006, promoted economic, social, political and legal empowerment of women through small business development and job-training programs; a national ombudsman's office for women's concerns; women's health-care services; literacy programs for adult women; a Women's Legal Rights Project; and increased numbers of women in the judiciary, the parliament, and the president's cabinet.

The most populous country in the Middle East, Egypt is home to nearly 80 million people, 90 percent of whom are Muslims. With 20 percent of the country living below the poverty line, women and children bear a disproportionate economic burden, especially in rural areas.

Why would the autocratic Mubarak government expand rights and freedoms for women?  One reason is simply pragmatic: Empowering women strengthened Egypt's secular society and blunted the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist conservatives whose interpretations of Qur'anic law helped perpetuate female subjugation.  Seeing hard-line Islamist groups as a constant threat to his government, Mubarak used every means to keep them in check.

Suzanne Mubarak's organization enlisted Muslim scholars with more progressive views to write alternative interpretations of the Qur'an on topics ranging from polygamy to gender equality to economic rights.  Her council was recognized by the World Bank as a best-practice model for the Middle East and North Africa, and collaborated with the United Nations (UNDP, UNIFEM, UNICEF), the Ford Foundation, IBM, the European Union, and the governments of the United States, Sweden, Finland, Spain, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom.

To be sure, some critics argue that Ms. Mubarak's efforts did not go far enough.  But the ultimate measure of her work may be the extent to which Egyptian women claim equal status under the emerging government.

Mann Medal in Ethics and Leadership to Recognize Work for a Better World; Nominations Now Open

Nominations are now being accepted for the Mann Medal in Ethics and Leadership, awarded by Samford University to recognize achievements that have contributed to a more just and ethical world. Nominees may be individuals, groups or organizations from any field of practice. Following are several key considerations in selecting the honoree:

• The work recognized with this award must address a clear need or problem facing society.
• The results achieved by this work must have significance on a large scale.
• The work must be exemplary of leadership that inspires others.

Designed by world-renowned artist Malcolm Grear, the Mann Medal bears the “Sheaf of Grain” emblem of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership, symbolizing leadership that cultivates a better world. One medalist each year is honored at a special event in Birmingham, AL, and invited to speak to an audience of university constituencies and community leaders.  Click here for a nomination form in pdf format. Nomination deadline for the 2011 Mann Medal: Monday, March 28.

Mann Center Initiatives in South Africa Support Entrepreneurship and Leadership Development

A team of students from Samford's Brock School of Business is working with the Mann Center to support a micro-enterprise center in the Cape Town area of South Africa.  Living Way is a non-profit organization that empowers the poor with "meaningful opportunities to earn a decent living."  The students are conducting research and will work on site at Living Way this summer to produce a plan to replicate an existing bakery business in multiple locations within townships where the greatest poverty exists.

The Mann Center also is collaborating with Stellenbosch University in South Africa in a new program to develop leaders as agents of positive change.  Cadres of students at Samford and Stellenbosch are  studying the leadership of college students in the historic movements to overcome racial segregation and oppression in both South Africa and the American South.  The project involves live videoconferences and networking on a Facebook group.

News and Views

Government and business regained some public trust in 2010, according to the annual Edelman Trust Barometer, a survey of educated, affluent citizens in the top 10 GDP countries.  However, this trend did not hold in the United States, where trust of many institutions fell sharply.  The U.S. banking industry experienced the steepest decline -- a 46-point drop in trust from 2008 to 2011.  Related resource: Edelman Trust Barometer highlights.

Americans are sharply divided over the dramatic changes in the structure of the family that have occurred in recent decades, a survey by Pew Research Center finds.  These changes include "more unmarried couples raising children; more gay and lesbian couples raising children; more single women having children without a male partner to help raise them; more people living together without getting married; more mothers of young children working outside the home; more people of different races marrying each other; and more women not ever having children."  Roughly a third of Americans accept the changes, a third are tolerant but skeptical, and a third view them as bad for society.  Related resource: Pew Research Center study on changes in family structure.

Today's college students crave self-esteem above all else, reflecting an unhealthy societal belief that "self-esteem is the cure all for every social ill," says a study published in the latest issue of Journal of Personality.  "The problem isn’t with having high self-esteem; it’s how much people are driven to boost their self-esteem," explains one of the researchers. "When people highly value self-esteem, they may avoid doing things such as acknowledging a wrong they did."  The findings are consistent with research on the Millennial generation whose parents often went to great lengths to build self-esteem, including awarding trophies to every team in youth sports, including the losers. Related resource: Ohio State University report on the study.

Are employees more likely to report wrongdoing at work when economic times are tough? A new report from the Ethics Resource Center says the percentage of workers who say they report misconduct rose to 63 percent in 2009, up from 58 percent in 2007.  Between 2000 and 2009 the percentage of employees who observed and reported misconduct averaged 59 percent.  Related resource: Ethics Resource Center Report on Whistleblowing.