Our students will debate matters relating to “Ethical Issues in a Multicultural Society” on the campus of Hampden-Sydney College. They will take a stand against 14 other highly qualified teams from independent colleges and universities across Virginia, debating a variety of case studies highlighting potential ethical dilemmas spanning various cultures.
To help prepare for the event, the students will participate in an Ethics Bowl Demonstration tomorrow night, February 8, organized by VWU’s Center for the Study of Religious Freedom. The program will highlight some of the issues that the students may debate—specifically those relating to ethnicity, race, and religion—and the audience will have a chance to interact, critique, and discuss. I encourage our campus community to come to support our team in Monumental Chapel at 7 p.m.
The Ethics Bowl was established by the VFIC as a means of engaging students with complex ethical dilemmas based on studies of real-world cases. Students, faculty members, and distinguished professionals judge and moderate the event, placing priority on personal ethics in the classroom and workplace. Virginia Wesleyan won the first-ever Ethics Bowl, held in 2000 at the University of Richmond. The University hosted the event in 2005, 2011, and 2017, and VWU’s Ethics Bowl Team placed as runner up in 2014. I am proud to serve, along with Professor Steven Emmanuel, on the statewide Ethics Bowl Committee, which is co-chaired by my good friend Ken Garren, President of Lynchburg College, and national news legend Roger Mudd. Read more about this year's competition on the VWU website at: http://www.vwu.edu/news-a-even
Very special thanks to Dr. Kathy Merlock Jackson, Professor of Communication, who has long-served as faculty advisor and coach for the Virginia Wesleyan University Ethics Bowl Team. I know you all join me in wishing them well at the competition. Good luck!
