Oregon Independent College Foundation

Ethics Bowl

The Ethics Bowl is an academic competition designed to increase awareness and discourse among students from the OICF’s member colleges and area business and community leaders about the importance of ethics in leadership, decision-making, interpersonal relations, and all aspects of life.

Using the college bowl model of academic competition between teams of students, the

Ethics Bowl offers a distinctive platform that matches student teams from the ten OICF member colleges in debates over case studies that address a variety of contemporary ethics-based dilemmas.

The Ethics Bowl is unlike other academic programs because it directly connects students and community leaders through engagement with issues relevant to broader society. Approximately 50 business executives and community leaders serve as judges and evaluate team arguments. The Ethics Bowl exposes students to individuals from a variety of professions – these are not individuals who necessarily have extensive academic preparation in the field of ethics, but who have vast experience dealing with complex business issues. The Ethics Bowl truly connects the classroom with the boardroom.

The Ethics Bowl is more than a day away from the office or time out of the classroom; it’s a rare opportunity for substantial dialogue between the leaders of today and the leaders of tomorrow. This unique event allows students to interact with high profile business and community leaders in a setting that permits for dialogue and exchange that would rarely occur otherwise. In some instances, corporate contacts have also viewed the

Ethics Bowl as an excellent opportunity to consider students as prospective new employees for their organization.

OICF member colleges are on the leading edge of actively engaging students in thoughtful discourse about ethical decision making in all parts of our lives. The ten OICF colleges and universities offer a supportive, personalized environment where all students can excel. OICF colleges are small communities that value each student as an important member of that community. And, with faculty to student ratios that average 12:1, the personalized education experience offered by the OICF colleges has produced scores of thoughtful leaders for generations.

Meaningful investment in programs, such as the Ethics Bowl that encourage discourse about ethics, leadership, and personal character aligns with the priorities of the OICF and the member colleges, and provides substantial opportunities for thoughtful young people from the colleges to interact and openly discuss real world ethical issues and dilemmas with top business and community leaders from across the region. This dialogue is critically important as these young people become the next generation of community leaders.

Congratulations to University of Portland, champions of the 2009 OICF Ethics Bowl.

View 2009 Ethics Bowl post-event press release. (PDF)

OICF would like to thank current 2010 Ethics Bowl Sponsors: