2009 OICF Ethics Bowl

Published on Feb 18 2009 in Ethics Bowl, Press Release by
Top Regional Corporate & Community Leaders meet
Students from Ten Oregon Colleges & Universities in 2009 Ethics Bowl:
“Ethics & Contemporary Society”

What to do with frozen embryos that have no immediate plans for in vitro fertilization? Should government agencies create ethical guidelines for the nation’s banks to consider as they do business? Do those who use social networking sites deliberately surrender their privacy? What ethical responsibility do publications have to inform readers that they include stories written for compensation?

These are just a sampling of ethical dilemmas that more than 50 students from the 10 member colleges and universities of the Oregon Independent College Foundation will debate during the OICF’s 4th Annual Ethics Bowl program on February 27-28, 2009. Marylhurst University will host the event. A complete schedule of events is attached.

The OICF Ethics Bowl is a unique initiative that matches student teams from the OICF colleges in case study debate over a variety of contemporary and complex ethically-based situations. “The Ethics Bowl will challenge students and business leaders alike to offer thoughtful solutions to real-world ethical dilemmas,” said Kevin Matheny, OICF President/CEO. “With headlines in the media continuing to reflect poor ethical decision-making in today’s society, I can think of nothing more important than gathering Oregon students, business executives and community leaders together to discuss the importance of applied ethics in all aspects of our lives.”

Teams of three to five students from the 10 OICF colleges will compete head-to-head and be judged by panels of distinguished corporate and community leaders from across the Northwest. Many prominent leaders from business, law, finance, nonprofit and other fields will listen to team presentation and offer reactions to students. A complete list of current judges is attached.

Ethics Bowl Program of Events

The Ethics Bowl program will commence with an opening gala and Great Debate on February 27 in the Dolores Winningstad Theatre at The Portland Center for Performing Arts.

OICF Ethics & Leadership Committees & Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Executive at The Regence Group will serve as Moderator of the Great Debate, which will include the following senior executives: Mark Ganz, President & CEO, The Regence Group, Christopher Folkestad, Executive Director, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund, Judy Peppler, President – Oregon, Qwest Communications, David Childers, CEO & President, EthicsPoint, Inc.,  Eric Friedenwald-Fishman, Creative Director/President, The Metropolitan Group, Craig Wessel, Publisher, Portland Business Journal, George Brown, M.D., President & CEO, Legacy Health System, and Randy Drake, Senior Vice President for Fitness & Business Development, 24-Hour Fitness. Student team debates will begin on February 28 at 9:00 AM on the campus of Marylhurst University. The winning team will be announced at approximately 4:30 PM the same day.

Mohan Nair, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Executive, The Regence Group will serve as the 2009 Ethics Bowl event chair. Summa Cum Laude (Title) Sponsor for the Ethics Bowl is: The Regence Group (Portland, Ore). Cum Laude (Presenting) Sponsors are: Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund (Portland, Ore.) and The Wollenberg Foundation (Menlo Park, Cal.). CEO Sponsor is:  Bon Appétit Management Company (Palo Alto, Cal.). Managing Partner Sponsors are: 24-Hour Fitness (San Ramon, Cal.) and the Portland Business Journal (Portland, Ore.).

“The Ethics Bowl is a unique forum that allows some of Oregon’s brightest students to work with many of the state’s most recognized business and community personalities,” said Mohan Nair, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Executive, The Regence Group “Students will present their views on issues that seem to regularly make the news, including business and politics, and other timely issues.”

A five-student team from Concordia University won the OICF’s 3rd Ethics Bowl in March 2008. A team from Willamette University was the runner-up.

Since 1950, the Oregon Independent College Foundation has served as a fundraising and programmatic consortium of Oregon’s ten leading private colleges and universities. Current OICF priorities include connecting students with full and part-time employment as well as professional internship opportunities, increasing diversity on the member college campuses, and programs that showcase the colleges’ focus on ethics and leadership development. OICF members include: Concordia University, George Fox University, Lewis & Clark College, Linfield College, Marylhurst University, Pacific University, Reed College, University of Portland, Warner Pacific College and Willamette University.

2009 Ethics Bowl Leadership & Match Judges & Moderators (as of February 16, 2009)

Ethics Bowl Leadership

  • Mohan Nair, Executive Vice President & Chief Marketing Executive, The Regence Group (Chair)
  • Robin Baker, President, George Fox University
  • Gillian Floren, Vice President, Marketing and Business Retention, Greenlight Greater Portland
  • Robert Hirshon, Wein Charitable Trust
  • Dennis Rawlinson, Partner, Miller Nash LLP
  • Mark Swenson, Regional Vice President, Bon Appétit Management Company
  • Mike Van Orman, Vice President, U.S. Bank of Oregon

Ethics Bowl Judges

  • Herbert Aschkenasy, President, Oregon Freeze Dry
  • George Brown, M.D., President & CEO, Legacy Health System
  • Roger Busse, President & COO, Pacific Continental Bank
  • David Childers, CEO & President, EthicsPoint, Inc.
  • Drew Corrigan, Partner, KPMG
  • Don Coulman, Patent Attorney, Invention Law Group
  • Sam Currie, District Manager, Bon Appétit Management Company
  • Britt Davis, Director of Development, Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University
  • (Moderator)
  • Randy Drake, Senior Vice President – Fitness & Business Development, 24-Hour Fitness
  • Jay Dudley, VP, General Counsel & Corporate Compliance Officer, Portland General Electric
  • Christopher Folkestad, CPA, Executive Director, Maybelle Clark Macdonald Fund
  • Fr. Rick Ganz, SJ, Jesuit of the Oregon Province, Visiting Scholar at the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust
  • Lonnie Iholts, President, Siuslaw Bank
  • Benita Joseph, Oregon District HR Manager, United Parcel Service (Moderator)
  • Jerry Ketel, President, Leopold Ketel & Partners
  • Melissa Mackie, College Relations Lead, The Regence Group (Moderator)
  • Mignon Mazique, Executive Counselor, MercyCorps
  • Robert McKean, President & CEO, Albina Community Bank
  • Mohan Nair, EVP & Chief Marketing Executive, The Regence Group
  • John Nolting, Senior Vice President, KeyBank
  • Kathy Oliver, Executive Director, Outside In
  • Judy Peppler, President – Oregon, Qwest Communications
  • Nelson Pratt, Vice President, Brand Marketing, The Regence Group
  • Bruce Rubin, Partner, Miller Nash LLP
  • Terry Shanley, CEO, SMART
  • Robert Sznewajs, President & CEO, West Coast Bancorp
  • Mike Van Orman, Vice President, U.S. Bank
  • Jodi Walder-Biesanz, Marketing & Communications Director, ESCO Corp.
  • Grant Watkinson, President, Coastwide Laboratories
  • Jacqueline Yerby, Assistant Director – Ethics & Compliance, The Regence Group

Contact:
Kevin Matheny
President/CEO
503-496-3420
kevin@oicf.org