Virginia Wesleyan College will host the Virginia Foundation for
Independent Colleges' (VFIC) 18th Annual Wells Fargo Ethics Bowl on
February 12-13. Our students will take a stand against highly qualified
teams from independent colleges and universities across Virginia,
debating a variety of case studies highlighting this year's timely
topic, "Ethics and U.S. Presidential Politics."
In 1997, the VFIC
Ethics Task Force initiated the Ethics Bowl in an effort to involve
students at the 15 VFIC colleges in lively debate and consideration of
applied ethics—real world dilemmas that affect people’s lives in
increasingly complex ways. At that time the Task Force was co-chaired by
Roger Mudd, History Channel - Journalist (retired) and VFIC trustee,
and Phillip Stone, President of Bridgewater College (1994-2010).
Virginia
Wesleyan won the first-ever Ethics Bowl, held in 2000 at the University
of Richmond. The College hosted the event in 2005 and 2011, and VWC’s
Ethics Bowl Team placed as runner up in 2014. This event will bring
students and faculty from other colleges to our campus. In addition,
many distinguished professionals will serve as judges and moderators. We
look forward serving as the hosts and invite you to learn more about
the VFIC Ethics Program at www.vfic.org.
Dr.
Steven Emmanuel, Professor of Philosophy, and I serve on the statewide
committee. A campus planning team, chaired by Dr. Timothy O'Rourke,
Provost and Vice President, is organizing the host logistics. Thanks to
Professor of Communication, Dr. Kathy Merlock Jackson, for serving as
our faculty adviser and coach for the team. Thanks also to Hank Howell
for volunteering to assist Dr. Jackson in this effort.
As we prepare for the event, I encourage our campus community to come support our students and this significant endeavor.
