Capturing the lively discussions, presentations, and other events that make up the daily activities of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University.
Ana, who was brought to America as an infant by her undocumented parents, is now ready to go to college. Should she be eligible for funding from the state of California?
The Dream Act is the topic for this week's Big Q, a project to involve undergraduates in conversation about the ethical issues in their own lives. Best student response will win $100. Deadline is May 27.
Jose Antonio Vargas, an award-winning multimedia journalist, speaks at immigration and the future of the country, May 17, 7 p.m., at the Malley Center on the Santa Clara University campus. Vargas is the founder of Define American, a new campaign that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration.
He's been a journalist for over a decade, writing for some of the most prestigious news organizations in the country. Most recently, he was a senior contributing editor at the Huffington Post, where he launched the Technology and College sections. Prior to that, he covered tech and video game culture, HIV/AIDS, and the 2008 presidential campaign for the Washington Post, and was part of the team that won a Pulitzer Prize for covering the 2007 massacre at Virginia Tech. In 2007, the daily journal Politico named him one of the 50 Politicos To Watch.
Born in the Philippines, he emigrated to the United States at age 12. Stunning the media and political circles and attracting world-wide coverage, Vargas wrote the groundbreaking essay, "My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant," for the New York Times Magazine in the summer of 2011.
Vargas is a very proud alumnus of Mountain View High School and San Francisco State University.
"The [Yahoo] board really is boxed into a corner," Center Executive Director Kirk O. Hanson told the Associated Press about whether the company should fire CEO Scott Thompson because of an inaccuracy on his resume. "If this individual is prone to exaggeration or excessive claims, they have to be worried it might happen again down the road. They also have to ask themselves, 'Can this leader serve as a moral example or moral leader for our company?' Behavior rolls downhill. If the CEO exaggerates a little, then others in the organization will exaggerate a lot."
Hanson was widely quoted on the resume padding scandal. A complete list of Hanson's comments on the issue is here.
Frank Benest, senior advisor to the International City/County Management Association, addressed the recent meeting of the Center's Public Sector Roundtable, a group of locally elected officials and members of city staffs. According to Benest, the ethical expectations for public officials flow from the form of government under which the city operates.
In the city council-city manager form of government, ethical issues can arise between the elected councilmembers and the professional staff, which report to the city manager. Benest led the group through three scenarios illustrating some of the problems and drawing on the expertise of the group of develop responses.
Friday is the deadline to register for the conference "Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church: A Decade of Crisis," to be held May 11, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. on the Santa Clara University campus. Taking on a still-controversial topic, a diverse group of experts, including victims and clergy, offers reflections on the sexual abuse crisis in the Catholic Church, examining what the church has done—and what it still needs to do—to protect children.
Keynote speakers are:
Karen J. Terry, PhD, is a professor in the criminal justice department and the interim dean of research at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. She holds a doctorate in criminology from Cambridge University and has several publications on sex offender treatment, management, and supervision. Most recently, she was the principal investigator on the national Study of the Nature and Scope of Sexual Abuse in the Catholic Church from 1950–2002 and on the Study of the Causes and Context of Sexual Abuse of Minors by Catholic Priests in the United States, 1950-2010.
Thomas J. Reese, S.J., senior fellow, Woodstock Theological Center, Georgetown University and former editor of America magazine. Author of a trilogy examining church organization and politics on the local, national, and international levels: Archbishop: Inside the Power Structure of the American Catholic Church (Harper & Row, 1989), A Flock of Shepherds: The National Conference of Catholic Bishops (Sheed & Ward , 1992), and Inside the Vatican: The Politics and Organization of the Catholic Church (Harvard University Press, 1997). Currently co-ordinates the Religion & Public Policy Program and International Visiting Fellowship Program at Woodstock.
The best preparation for a career in medicine may be a degree in the humanities. That suggestion by author Abraham Verghese, this year's DeNardo lecturer at SCU, will be the focus of a panel discussion today at noon in the Wiegand Center. The panelists are all highly regarded SCU faculty who work closely with students pursuing careers in health care.
-- Stephen Carroll, SCU English Department
-- Steven Fedder, SCU Chemistry and Pre-Health Advisor
-- Lawrence Nelson, SCU Philosophy
This event is being done in coordination with the DeNardo Lecture Committee.
Are students or parents responsible for college tuition and loans? The Big Q, the Center's online dialog for undergraduates about ethical issues in their everday lives, focuses this week on fairness in college financing. In an article for USA Today College, Center Assistant Director Miriam Schulman lays out both sides of the question. The Big Q blog offers a case study to spark conversation on the issue.
A distinguished panel explores the signs of ethical collapse, how group dynamics and social psychology can influence behavior, and how boards can address the early red flags.
Thursday, May 17, 7:30 - 9:30 a.m.,
Palo Alto Offices of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
650 Page Mill Road
Palo Alto, CA 94304
Like humans, companies need both a heart and a soul, says Richard Levy, chairman of Varian Medical Systems. The heart keeps the human and the company alive and functioning, but that, in itself, isn't enough. The soul, which gives meaning to human life, focuses the attention of a company—its management and its board-- beyond simply making money to doing something to promote the common good.
In three video conversations with James Balassone, executive-in-residence at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Levy details the duties and responsibilities of corporate boards: first and foremost, to look after the interests of shareholders, oversee financial performance and compliance, weigh in on strategy when necessary, understand risks, and evaluate, compensate and hire and fire the CEO and other senior managers. He also discusses how to promote healthy relationships between boards and senior management and clearly defines what should take place in an effective board meeting.
In response to yesterday's protest by Occupy San Francisco at Wells Fargo's annual meeting, Center Executive Director Kirk O. Hanson spoke with KQED's Cy Musiker about the movement and about the responsibility of banks to homeowners in the wake of the country's economic meltdown.
"The bank benefited greatly from the bailout," Hanson said. "It did pay the money back, but one would expect that in response to that, they ought to do whatever they can to soften the blow on those individuals who got these mortgages and who are in foreclosure or who are suffering because of the continuing stream of payments."
