ethics news & views

April 2 | Sex, Shopping & Self

Consumerism, body image, eating disorders, and sexual orientation will be the subjects of a Center for Ethics dialogue between popular author Naomi Wolf and television personality Carson Kressley on April 2. The dialogue will be moderated by Rev. Bridgette Young, Associate Dean of the Religious Life Program.

Two EASL undergraduates honored with Emory Humanitarian Awards

Emory undergraduates Erik Fyfe and Molly Harrington, both recent members of the Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum, were among six students honored with the 2005 Emory University Humanitarian Award. Awards were presented January 26 by Emory President James Wagner and other top administrators.

Both Fyfe and Harrington were participants in the 2003-2004 EASL Forum, and Harrington was also a Servant Leader Summer Intern in 2004.
Awardees were nominated for the awards by fellow students or professors.

EASL students awarded Emory Humanitarian Award

Emory undergraduates Erik Fyfe and Molly Harrington, both recent members of the Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum, were among six students honored with the 2005 Emory University Humanitarian Award. Awards were presented January 26th by Emory President James Wagner and other top administrators.

Both Fyfe and Harrington were participants in the 2003-2004 EASL Forum, and Harrington was also a Servant Leader Summer Intern in 2004.

Feb 28 | Palestinian-Israeli Unity Project: Breaking The Ice

In January of 2004, the international organization Extreme Peace Missions, a German-based foundation, sent four Palestinians and four Israelis on an expedition from Chile to Antarctica. The "Breaking the Ice" expedition was developed to help build understanding between the two groups and is similar in purpose to North Carolina Outward Bound School’s Unity Program for teenagers.

After sailing the gale-driven seas off Cape Horn, these men and women hiked Antarctica and climbed a previously unnamed peak that is now known as the Mountain of Palestinian and Israeli Friendship. The Dali Lama, Kofi Annan, Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and other international dignitaries lent their public support to this landmark peace mission.

Four members of this expedition will visit Emory to speak about this life-changing experience at 3pm, Feb 28 in Winship Ballroom. The event is sponsored by the Center for Ethics, North Carolina Outward Bounds, and the Office of Religious Life.

For directions and parking information, contact the DUC InfoDesk at (404) 727-8425.

EASL’s `Turner Scholars´ express group's servant leadership covenant through artwork

By Kate O'Dwyer Randall. Each new academic year, students in the Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum (or, the Turner Scholars) take on the task of creating a covenant with one another.

The covenant is a contract where group members together decide their shared goals and aspirations. They decide on values as a group they think servant leaders should commit to and be attentive to. They identify themselves in this group of servant leaders and strive to incorporate these concepts in their corporate work for the year.

Center co-sponsors events series on Darfur crisis

By Edward Queen. Emory University’s commitment to being an ethically engaged institution means that faculty, students, staff, and administrators do not merely teach, research, and study about issues of ethical importance, but that they expend their energies trying to address them.

On one contemporary issue, the impending threat of genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan, Professor Deborah Lipstadt asked: What are we doing at Emory? The answer was provided by a large swath of the Emory University community coming together to make its voices heard and to address the problems faced by the Darfurians.

EASL student creates get-out-the-vote program

By Meris M. Lutz. When College junior Wiatta Thomas first began her Ethics and Servant Leadership internship last summer at Atlanta Nine to Five, the local chapter of national activist organization Working Women, she never imagined she would be founding a voter-education program in low-income housing projects across the city.

“There’s a lot of [housing] projects in Atlanta, somewhere around 32,” Thomas said. “That’s a whole lot of people to reach.”

Nov 4 | The Myth of Moral Justice: Why Our Legal System Fails to Do What's Right

American culture is obsessed with the law, the legal system and lawyers. Yet most people report that they don’t trust lawyers and hold them and the legal system in very low esteem. Why is this?

Attorney and novelist Thane Rosenbaum proposes solutions in his new book The Myth of Moral Justice. He discovers a legal system with definitions of justice very much at odds with citizens’ expectations that the law will do the right thing.

Rosenbaum teaches at Fordham Law School. 6:30pm, November 4 in White Hall 208. Sponsored by the Center for Ethics with co-sponsorship from the Pre-Law Society and Mock Trial.

Oct 26 | Developing Leadership: A Business Prescription for Making Sense & Doing Well

As Chairman of Unilever Russia-Ukraine, Arjan Overwater has focused on transforming human resources practices to gear the company for a global environment for growth and change. Before working for Unilever, he headed HR for Coca-Cola in Northwest Europe.

Born in Amsterdam, Overwater holds a doctor in theology from Rijks University of Utrecht and an MBA from the University of Sussex. He served as a Fellow at the Emory’s Center for Faith Development in 1984-1985.

5:15pm, October 26 in Goizueta 204. Sponsored by Goizueta School of Business and the Center for Ethics, with co-sponsorship by NetImpact and the International Business Association.

EASL students featured in Emory Wheel

An article today in The Emory Wheel details the work of Ethics and Servant Leadership students with Metrovision, a mentoring program for teenage inmates at the Metro Regional Youth Detention Center. Full article here.

EASL Forum accepting applications until Sept 16

The D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership is proud to celebrate the conclusion of its fifth year of programming and to announce the opening of applications for the 2004-2005 EASL Forum.

Center launches 'Student Think Tank' to plan, implement campus ethics events

This year the Center for Ethics will experiment with a new approach to its public events. In April the Center recruited a dozen student leaders to help it plan and implement undergraduate-oriented public programming for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Recruited students were drawn from:

• Ethics and Servant Leadership;
• Bridging Academics, Service, and Ethics;
• Science and Society; and
• Emory Living Wage Coalition (originally an EASL service project).

The diverse group of undergraduates also actively participates in student government and campus activist and service groups. At its initial May meeting, the Think Tank decided to focus its energies this year on the ethics of power, beauty/consumerism, professional ethics, and sexual orientation. Anticipated event formats will likely include film screenings, discussion forums, and student/faculty panels.

The group hopes to develop a major event tentatively titled “Sex, Shopping, and Self” for the spring semester.

Additional film screenings, workshops, and panels planned with the Student Think Tank will be publicized on campus and on the Center for Ethics’ website throughout the year.

Oct 26 | Unilever Chair to address Goizueta, Center

Arjan Overwater, Chairman of Unilever Russia/Ukraine, will visit the Center for Ethics and Goizueta Business School 5:15pm, October 26 in Goizueta 204. He will speak about servant leadership in a corporate business context.

Servant leadership Forum members, summer interns transform Atlanta

What can three people do in sixteen weeks? Quite a lot if they are motivated, creative, and committed. Three members of the 2003-2004 Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum undertook a relatively simple task that has begun to transform both the Atlanta Metro Juvenile Detention Center and the volunteer opportunities at Emory. These three students, Anita Husen, Eric Fyfe, and Leila Barker (and joined by colleagues Veena Guishani, Candance Chan and Ogedi Atukuwpa) started attending volunteer Saturdays at the Center and recognized the need for more mentors.

What began as a series of simple visits by the three, then the five of them, soon became a college-wide endeavour. The students not only undertook individual mentoring of youth at the Center, but they also put together a talent show and brought in Emory student musicians, dancers, and others to perform for the youth. Seeing the tremendous need at the Center, the students also held a series of trainings for Emory students interested in becoming mentors as well. About 60-70 students went through this training and have begun mentoring at the juvenile center. Anita Husen, one of the students organizing the project, received on behalf of her colleagues the Joel Andrew Geller Humanitarian Service Award. This $1000 award, designed to support students committed to undertaking community service, was used to further the work of the Servant Leadership Forum students at the juvenile detention center.

The students, unwilling to rest on their individual successes, also undertook a series of activities designed to formalize and institutionalize the project. The result is that MetroVision has been picked up by Emory Volunteers and beginning with the 2004-2005 academic year will be a formal part Emory University’s commitment to serving the Atlanta community.

EASL Forum accepting early student applications until April 23

In order to broaden the opportunities available to students to apply, the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership will conduct its first round of selections for the 2004-2005 Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum this spring. Applications are being accepted until April 23.

Servant Leadership Summer accepting intern applications until March 3

The D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership is now taking applications for its Servant Leadership Summer internships.

Servant Leadership Summer is an eight-week funded internship program designed to enable students to deepen and integrate the practical, vocational, and intellectual components of their lives. Students will spend their time working in a non-profit or socially responsible business in the Atlanta area, developing management and leadership skills and learning from ongoing interaction with practicing servant-leaders.

EASL Forum Service Projects Spring 2004

Each spring semester EASL Forum students collaborate on service projects. Projects focus on one of four areas:

1. Campus change. For example, in 2001 students worked on a Living Wage campaign.
2. Community immersion. Students work together with a specific community-based organization on a joint project.
3. Civic engagement. Students design and implement program to increase civic education and participation.
4. Communication of servant leadership and/or ethics.

EASL Forum accepting spring round of student applications

In order to broaden the opportunities available to students to apply, the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership will conduct its first round of selections for the 2004-2005 Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum this spring.

Choosing vocation: An open letter from the Dominican Republic

My dear students,

Our conversations of this past semester, across cups of coffee and tired burnt-orange chair pillows have been on my mind this holiday break. The country I am visiting this season keeps a pace that allows time for reflection and silence, two things lacking in the modern North American life, and issues of ethics and vocation have been able to take root and nest in me deeply.

EASL summer intern to receive Emory Humanitarian Award

Lynn McBrien will be awarded this year's Emory Humanitarian Award on January 28, in part because of her participation in the 2003 Servant Leadership Summer program, sponsored by the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership.

McBrien served as a summer camp counselor, wrote curriculum, and led field trips for the children's program at Refugee Family Services in Clarkston. She hopes to complete her PhD in Educational Studies at Emory in spring 2005. She is currently an adjunct instructor in educational psychology at the University of Georgia.

The Humanitarian Award is given each year to Emory students for outstanding contributions to the Emory and Atlanta communities.

Nov 4: A Culture of Death: Anti-Globalization's Threat to Our Common Humanity

The Center for Ethics' Edward Queen, director of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program, will speak November 4 as part of the Center's series on religion and globalization:

Contrary to how its supporters present its positions, anti-globalization, rather than affirming a concern for human beings, presents on a practical level a profoundly disturbing and callous disregard for human suffering and, on a more philosophical level, a rejection of the idea of our common humanity. The rejection of the latter, rather than being an affirmation of others, becomes instead a distancing and a separation. To the extent that others differ from me, I can disregard any appeals they make for support and assistance that are based on shared values, hopes, and goals. We share nothing. To the extent to which the other appeals for my help based on claims of such shared realities, this reflects only their lack of authenticity and their "rootless cosmopolitanism." In this lecture, Edward Queen, examines the conceptual and factual weaknesses of anti-globalization forces and challenges individuals to struggle together for a way of thinking about the world and its future that incorporates a vision of a common humanity.

[ Posted by Chance Hunter on October 21, 2003 | Permanent Link | Comments (8) ]

EASL deadline extended until September 11

The deadline for applications to the 2003-2004 EASL Forum is extended until Thursday, September 11. Applications are available here.

EASL Forum accepting applications until Sept 8

The D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership is proud to celebrate the conclusion of its fourth year of programming and to announce the opening of applications for the 2003-2004 EASL Forum.

The beginning of the 2003-2004 academic year brings many changes to the EASL staff. The Center for Ethics welcomes Edward Queen as the new director of the program and Kate O’Dwyer Randall as Assistant Director. The new team looks forward to the opportunity to build on what has been such a successful and exciting program and to receiving applications for this year’s forum.

Getting to know you:
Introducing the new Ethics and Servant Leadership team

Edward Queen and Kate O'Dwyer Randall joined the Center for Ethics this summer as the new Ethics and Servant Leadership team (see article). We pulled them aside to talk about their dreams for the program.

Q. What first attracted you both to work with EASL?

Edward: The combination of the components of the program was most attractive to me. The opportunity to work with students, faculty, and staff and then the wider Atlanta community on issues related to ethics and servant leadership really presented some exciting opportunities. For me, that was the most attractive part of the overall position.

[ Posted by Chance Hunter on August 15, 2003 | Permanent Link | Comments (2) ]

Edward Queen, Kate Randall join Center as new Ethics and Servant Leadership team

The Center for Ethics is pleased to welcome Edward Queen and Kate O'Dwyer Randall as the new leadership team of the D. Abbott Turner Program in 'Ethics and Servant Leadership' (EASL).
As new EASL director, Edward Queen brings with him his passion for undergraduate teaching, his nonprofit consulting experience, and his expertise in servant leadership. He joined the Center in mid-July.

[ Posted by Chance Hunter on August 15, 2003 | Permanent Link | Comments (3) ]

Teaching citizenship

Colleges are becoming more civic-minded, but there is still plenty of room for improvement, writes Caryn McTighe Musil, vice president for diversity, equity, and global initiatives at the Association of American Colleges and Universities, in the spring issue of Peer Review.

Internship placement featured on NPR's "Marketplace"

On July 4th the public radio program "Marketplace," which specializes in business reporting, did a feature on independent record labels (in observance of "Independence Day"?). One of EASL's summer internship placements Daemon Records, run by Amy Ray of the Indigo Girls, was featured on the program.

To listen and read more, please visit Marketplace.

New EASL director is Edward Queen

The Center for Ethics is pleased to welcome Edward Queen as the new director of the D. Abbott Turner Program in Ethics and Servant Leadership. Queen brings with him his passion for undergraduate teaching, his nonprofit consulting experience, and his expertise in servant leadership. He will join the Center in July.

Edward Queen is Senior Researcher on the Charitable Choice Implementation Project at the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. He received his B.A. from Birmingham-Southern College, his M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the Divinity School of the University of Chicago, and his J.D. from the Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis.

[ Posted by Chance Hunter on June 26, 2003 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) ]

Hascall to speak at 'Employee Council Brown Bag' July 11

Friday, July 11th 12pm - 1pm
Goizueta Business School, room *304*
(*NOTE the change in room number)

EASL students are award-winning

Last week, we celebrated graduation with many of our students. We also were pleased that EASL students had a banner year winning awards across the University. Listed below are some of the awards given to EASL students. Over the last four years, our students have been awarded over 59 Emory awards and 33 national awards/honor societies.

We also found out last week that two more EASL students were selected for the highly competitive Teach for America program. They will join Will Scruggs from last year's class in dedicating (at least) two years of their lives to teaching in high needs school districts.

Ethics and Servant Leadership accepting 'Forum' applications until September 12, celebrates successful summer internships

EASL is proud to celebrate the conclusion of its third year of programming this summer. Melissa Snarr and Mary Sue Brookshire continue to lead the EASL program in its curricular and co-curricular development.

At the end of July, the Servant Leadership Summer internship program came to a close. Interns spent thirty hours a week at their community placements, which included the Community Housing Resource Center, The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, and Refugee Family Services (formerly Newcomers’ Network). In addition, interns invested an additional three hours each Friday reflecting with their peers. We also added a poetry component to this year’s reflection sessions, offering students a creative outlet for processing their experiences. Melissa Range served as our poet guide in this endeavor.

EASL 'Forum' completes third successful year

On April 19, 2002 the third Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) student forum celebrated the end of an incredible year together. Melissa Snarr, director of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program, gave the closing address. Each student was presented with a certificate, a book, and a copy of the covenant the group drafted together.

The Forum kicked off with a retreat in early October 2001 and met weekly through April 2002. In addition to EASL program associate Mary Sue Brookshire, the group was facilitated by Lisa Flick (Director of Programs, CityCares) and Karen Salisbury (Assistant Dean for Campus Life and Director of Student Activities, Emory University).

EASL 'Servant Leadership Summer' 2002 to begin May 30

After receiving over 50 applications for eleven positions, the EASL staff and their community partners have selected the 2002 Servant Leadership Summer Interns. In fact, our group will be slightly larger this year: two of the placement sites were so impressed with the intern candidates that they made special arrangements to fund a second intern. Interns are funded to work for eight weeks with a local Atlanta organization and participate in weekly reflection sessions with the intern group.

EASL Forum students to implement service projects

On January 17, the EASL Forum kicks off an exciting second semester. Building on the foundations established in the fall, this spring student participants will be designing and implementing their own service projects. In the process, they will utilize the servant leadership skills and principles explored thus far. Projects will focus on four main themes: campus-wide impact, community immersion, civic engagement, and servant leadership/ethics.

EASL sponsors second year of Social Entrepreneurs at Emory

In a funding partnership with Volunteer Emory, the Ethics and Servant Leadership program helped sponsor the second year of the Social Entrepreneurs at Emory.

The Volunteer Emory program offers small seed grants to support student-run initiatives that serve the community. Through this grant program, students are encouraged to become Social Entrepreneurs, inspiring others to serve and perhaps creating their own nonprofit organization along the way.

[ Posted by Melissa Snarr on November 01, 2001 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) ]

EASL forum off to great start

Mary Sue Brookshire, who directs the co-curricular components of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program, continues to serve as a facilitator for the forum. In addition, we are thrilled to have two other facilitators this year: Karen Salisbury, Assistant Dean of Campus Life and Director of Student Activities, and Lisa Flick, Director of Programs at CityCares. Their gifts and skills have enriched the EASL Forum beyond measure.

Servant Leadership completes internships, works with Employee Council, convenes Forum

The Ethics and Servant Leadership program completed its second year of programming this summer.

With Melissa Snarr and Mary Sue Brookshire celebrating one year as the leadership team, EASL brought together ten more students to serve as summer interns. Interns spent thirty hours a week at their community placements and invested another three reflecting with their peers on Friday mornings. Once again, we were pleased with the great work and reflection of these students. Please take some time to read their articles on the web—you will be renewed.

Lessons from My Sister's House: 2001 Ethics and Servant Leadership internship

Fifty-year-old woman reports alcohol abuse for nearly thirty-five years, yet has only recently sought treatment...

Thirty-year-old female with chemical dependency issues. Reports being sexually abused as a child and seeks counseling for these issues. Brutally raped several years ago and reports that this sparked her addiction. Her drug of choice is crack cocaine...

Nineteen-year-old attending this program as a stipulation of her parole. Arrested for drug trafficking...

[ Posted by Jeanelle Bryan on September 01, 2001 | Permanent Link | Comments (1) ]

Employee council continues to explore servant leadership

Emory's Employee Council hosted its first servant leadership brown bag lunch with a presentation by Bob Haskell, who is leading a seven year process of transforming the organizational culture of Emory's Facilities Management Division. There was standing room only at the March 2 event.

EASL prepares for summer internships

The second summer of Servant Leadership internships is coming soon! Over thirty students have applied for the ten summer internships. Students receive a stipend of $2500 for the internships.

Ten students will be funded to work for eight weeks with a community partner and be part of the weekly EASL reflection group. The program follows excellent reviews by both student participants and placement site mentors.

Summer Servant Leadership internships on the horizon

Apply now for a Summer Internship!

The second summer of Servant Leadership internships is coming soon! We are in the process of confirming the sites and projects for summer 2001.

Ten students will be funded to work for eight weeks with a community partner and be part of the weekly EASL reflection group.

Last year’s placements included Hands On Atlanta, St. Vincent de Paul Society, Georgia Justice Project, Samaritan House, Robinson Humphrey, Emory Medical Genetics, The Children’s Museum of Atlanta, the Community Foundation and Women’s Action for New Directions. Look for additional sites and new projects as we advertise to students in mid-February.

If you have interest in being a student or community partner with the program contact Melissa Snarr at (404) 727-1240.

First EASL course launched

This spring marks the debut of the first course taught by Ethics and Servant Leadership (EASL) faculty. Melissa Snarr will offer “Ethics in Action: An Introduction to Practical Ethical Engagement” in the religion department.

Employee Council initiates servant leadership program

Twenty years ago Julia Leon of the Employee Council read an essay by Robert Greenleaf. When she heard of the Ethics and Servant Leadership program, she quickly initated contact with Melissa Snarr, Mary Sue Brookshire, and Andy Fleming. The following is a brief summary of developments since.

Ethics and Servant Leadership Forum in full swing

Now in its second year, the Community and Student Leaders’ Forum has enjoyed a successful start to its sophomore season.

In response to student feedback from the previous year, a few changes were made to this year’s program. In addition to meeting with local community leaders to discuss issues surrounding vocation, leadership and service, Forum participants are also serving as “community consultants” on a project for CityCares, the parent organization of Hands On Atlanta. Students are helping to develop resource materials for the Citizen Academy, a program that educates people on citizenship, activism, and civic engagement.

In January, Forum members participated in the Martin Luther King Jr. Service Summit, a three-day program exploring Dr. King’s messages of service, activism, diversity and nonviolence. In the coming months, the Forum will welcome community leaders in business, politics, and the arts, as well as continue in their work with CityCares.

Engaging minds, engaging communities: the inaugural servant leadership internships

"Courage, passion, and service animate their spirits.
Learning, doing, and transforming drive their journeys.
Openness, intellect, and community make them who they are."
—Melissa Snarr, Director of Ethics and Servant Leadership

Prophetic awareness: Greenleaf on servant leadership

In The Servant as Leader, Robert K. Greenleaf makes a compelling contribution to several fields, including organizational management, leadership theory, practical theology, and applied ethics. And he does so with an essay that speaks to the heart as well as the mind.

Boston Conference Focuses on Service Learning

How should secondary educational institutions define "service"? Can a university embrace community partnerships without losing institutional identity and student focus? These questions helped set the opening tone for "A Future of Service: A National Conference on Service-Learning in Religion," held 17-18 November in Boston. Conference organizers Joseph Favazza and Michael McClain, both faculty at Rhodes College, introduced the themes of the weekend gathering: definitions in service-learning; creating the engaged university; the dilemma of descriptive versus normative agendas; encountering the other; creating community partnerships; and creating service-learning syllabi.

E&SL Report

This fall's D. Abbott Turner Ethics and Servant Leadership program inaugurated an interdisciplinary undergraduate and graduate student leadership forum; shaped internship, social entrepreneurial, and dissertation fellowships; increased collaborations with Violence Studies and Theory Practice Learning; continued to develop relationships with Campus Compact and Rhodes College Service-Learning initiatives; and conducted a public forum to discuss corporate ethics with James Blanchard, CEO of Synovus Financial Corp.

Challenging Our Greatness: Universities, Dirty Hands, and the Context for the Ethics and Servant Leadership program

Derrick Bok, president emeritus of Harvard University, is just one of many voices which have identified the university as one of the "most central institutions of society." Such a claim makes many of us working in higher education feel proud and yes, sometimes a bit brazen. As teachers, consultants, and researchers, we have the capacity to excite young minds, discover new knowledge, and influence public policy and professional practices. What a privilege and contribution.

"Good for us" - if Bok did not so skillfully couple the claim of centrality with a tough question: "If we are so good, why are so many things [in society] so troubling?"

The question prompts long pauses, often a bit of defensiveness, and recently a growing national movement of universities examining what it means to be an "engaged citizen" on both an individual and institutional level.

[ Posted by Melissa Snarr on September 01, 1999 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) ]

Following the Divining Rod: beginning movements in ethics and servant leadership

The image of following the divining rod describes the feel of these early stages of our work in the D. Abbott Turner Ethics and Servant Leadership initiative: discovering the places where scholarship and activity toward service to the public good lie in the ground of the Emory University community. I move carefully and attentively to identify sources of liveliness for our project, to invite faculty, administrators, and students into conversation with us and with each other, and to solidify the core of an ethos of ethical servant leadership.

[ Posted by Melissa Wiginton on February 01, 1999 | Permanent Link | Comments (0) ]

Gift launches Ethics and Servant Leadership Program

Funded through a generous gift from William Bradley Turner of Columbus, Georgia, the Center for Ethics is inaugurating a vital new initiative this fall, the D. Abbott Turner Ethics and Servant Leadership (ESL) program. Linking volunteer service and service learning with academic studies in ethics and leadership, the program will bring lecturers and mentors to Emory who embody servant leadership at its best.

[ Posted by James Fowler on September 01, 1998 | Permanent Link | Comments (6) ]