Published: Oct. 12, 2003

Corporate scandals involving illicit accounting practices and students using cell phones to cheat on college exams are just some of the ethical issues to be discussed at the first annual CU-Boulder Japha Ethics Symposium on Oct. 23.

The symposium begins at 9 a.m. and will be held in the newly completed club level seating in the east stands at Folsom Stadium. The event is free and open to the public. Seating is limited, however, and participants are asked to register in advance by going to the Web site at .

Detailed information on the Japha Symposium is available on the Web at .

Sponsored by CU-Boulder's Leeds School of Business, the one-day symposium called "The Future of Ethics: An Interdisciplinary Conference on Professional Ethics and Social Values," will bring together academics from several disciplines including business, law, health care, journalism, religious studies and others.

Scott Peppet, an associate professor in CU's School of Law who teaches legal ethics and advises businesses and corporations on bargaining and negotiation, is the director of the symposium.

"Our goal is to bring together people from across the CU system as well as business and legal professionals from the private sector and get them talking to each other about the special kinds of challenges that they face as they try to teach ethics and as they make professional, ethical decisions on a daily basis," said Peppet.

CU alumnus and Denver attorney Dan Japha established the ethics symposium in honor of his parents, Ly and Gerry Japha, through a donation to the Leeds School of Business. Japha's goal is to teach business students and others in the community the importance of ethical conduct in business.

"The decision to do the right thing in business transactions is a crucial part of the relationship between business and society," said Japha. "Doing the right thing ultimately will maximize enterprise value for shareholders and other business stakeholders. Like most of us I learned this from my parents, which is why I named this symposium in their honor."

Following opening comments by the Dean of the Leeds School, Steven Manaster, a plenary panel will begin the symposium by addressing the future of business ethics. Panelists include Michael Leeds, chair of the Leeds Business Advisory Council and former president and CEO of CMP Media Inc.; Stuart Campbell, managing partner for service development with the financial services firm KPMG; Seth Tobias, founder of Circle T partners -- a U.S. equity hedge fund -- and Will Weinstein, chairman of WIG LP.

The symposium also will feature breakout panels on topics such as the role of religious and moral beliefs in the workplace, the ethics of journalism and marketing, the ethical use of information technology and copyright law, and medical ethics.

For more information, contact Scott Peppet at (303) 735-0818, by e-mail at scott.peppet@colorado.edu or visit the Japha Symposium Web site at .

Japha Symposium Schedule

October, 23, 2003

9:05 Introduction by Dean Steven Manaster, Leeds School of Business

9:10 Introduction by Provost Phil DiStefano

9:15 Introduction and Logistics by Scott Peppet, Associate Professor, University of Colorado School of Law, Director of the Japha Ethics Symposium

9:30 Plenary Panel 1: The Future of Business Ethics

* Stuart Campbell, Managing Partner for Service Development, KPMG

* Michael Leeds, Chair of the Leeds Business Advisory Council, former President and CEO of CMP Media, Inc.

* Seth Tobias, Founder, Circle T Partners

* Will Weinstein, Chairman, WIG LP.

10:30 Break

10:45 Break Out Sessions 1:

A: The Ethics of Animal Rights and Animal Welfare

* Marc Bekoff, Professor, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Colorado

B: Spirit and Business: Integrating Religious and Moral

Traditions into Work

* Thomas Coburn, President, Naropa University

* Frederick Denny, Professor, Religious Studies, University of Colorado

* Brian Mahan, Assistant Professor of Christian Education, Candler School of Theology, Emory University

C: Ethics Beyond Compliance

* Matthew Pike, CEO of Professional Services Source

* Candice Shelby, Associate Professor, Philosophy, CU Denver, Executive Director of Center for Ethics and Community

11:45 Break

12:00 Lunch Speaker: Dan Japha

1:00 Break-Out Sessions 2

A: Issues in Medical Ethics

* Dayna Matthew, Professor, University of Colorado School of Law

* Mark Yarborough, Director and Associate Professor, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

B: Information Technology Ethics: Napster, Copyright, and

Everything After

* John Bennett, Associate Dean of Engineering for Education, Professor, Computer Science, University of Colorado

* Leland Giovenelli, Assistant Professor, Herbst Program of Humanities, Engineering, University of Colorado

* Diane Sieber, Professor, Spanish and Portuguese, Director of the Technology, Arts & Media Certificate, Associate Director of ATLAS, University of Colorado

* Philip J. Wieser, Associate Professor, University of Colorado School of Law

C: The Ethics of Persuasion

* Kendra Gale, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado

* Elizabeth Skewes, Assistant Professor, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado

2:00 Break

2:15 Plenary Panel 2: Ethics Across the Curriculum

* Dean Paul S. Voakes, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Colorado

* Mark Yarborough, Director and Associate Professor, Center for Bioethics and Humanities, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

* Robert Kolb, Assistant Dean for Business and Society, Leeds School of Business, University of Colorado

3:15 Concluding Remarks

3:30 End

Editors: Biographical information is available on most of the symposium participants by calling Dirk Martin, at (303) 492-3140, Jeannine Malmsbury at (303) 492-3115, or Scott Peppet at (303) 735-0818. A full schedule is included above.