Mission

The point is to think to the very reaches of our lives, hence as far as possible, beyond the limits of what we know… a philosophy is a set of reasonable opinions – something more difficult, and more necessary, to achieve than one might think.

—Andre Comte-Sponville

The Business Ethics Center (BEC) at Grand Valley State University approaches business ethics—all ethics, really—as a dialogue among students, faculty, staff, and the West Michigan business community. Our premise is that a shared ethic is built in a community and that the creation of a shared ethic requires places for conversations on important topics.

The BEC focuses on nine avenues for promoting these dialogues:

• The Barry Castro Business Ethics Lecture. Every year the Center brings a major figure in business, journalism, or academia to Grand Rapids to deliver a public lecture. The speaker is also the guest at a dinner in his or her honor with local businesspeople, and often will meet with student groups before the evening lecture.
• The BEC Fellows Program. Fellows are local, prominent businesspeople who co-teach one course in Business Ethics during their tenure, give one or more seminars for Seidman students and faculty related to their business expertise and experience, and assist the Director with events throughout the year. The BEC Fellow for 2008-2009 is Jeffrey Koeze, the owner and Managing Director of the Koeze Co. in Grand Rapids, MI.
• Business Roundtables. Four times throughout the year, local business people, professionals, faculty, and students meet to discuss issues of universal and local concern, such as health care, globalization, immigration, etc. A specialist is called upon to begin the discussion, but all members are invited to participate as equals once they begin. These discussions, as a philosopher once put it, “lay down some fresh paths through the wood – paths that may not go anywhere, but which do something nonetheless.” This is a notion of conversation that produces effects over products, though depending upon where the discussion leads we are not averse to products, either.
• Our services. The Director of the Center regularly conducts seminars and workshops for businesses in the areas of business ethics, values clarification, multi-generational understanding and conflict-resolution. Please contact Prof. DeWilde directly for more details.
• Faculty Seminars. The Director of the BEC, the BEC Fellow, and others provide resources for Seidman faculty who are teaching ethcs in their classrooms.
• Student-Centered Events. “Ethics Nights,” panel discussions, and guest speakers provide Seidman students with an array of perspectives on ethical thought and action.
• The Barry Castro Endowed Scholarship for Business Ethics. This merit-based scholarship awards two $1,500 scholarships per year to students in junior standing. Students must demonstrate outstanding academic ability and a commitment to the study of ethics in business contexts. The scholarship recipients for 2008-2009 are Kyle Denning and Brittany Byndas.
• Research and Conferences. The Director and others affiliated with the BEC are engaged in on-going scholarship relevant to ethics in business and are committed to sharing that research at national and international conferences.
• The BEC Forum. The BEC conducts ongoing small group meetings focusing on specific ethical issues of the members’ choosing.