Spring Ethics Forums Will Cover Range of Topics from Steroids to Red vs. Blue to Global Outsourcing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE February 7, 2005
CONTACT: Kathleen McPartland
Tel: 530-898-4260
Andrew Flescher530-895-5534
Spring Ethics Forums Will Cover Range of Topics from Steroids to Red vs.Blue to Global Outsourcing
The Center for Applied and Professional Ethics, California State University, Chico, will offer a series of four forums this spring, beginning on Feb. 16 with “Steroids, Professional Sports and Getting Ahead.” The series, free and open to the public, will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 pm, PAC 134.
A description of each forum follows:
Steroids, Professional Sports and Getting Ahead
Wednesday, Feb. 16, 7:30 pm, PAC 134
Barry Bonds allegedly used them. Jason Giambi admitted to using them. It is argued that they played a significant role in their rise to baseball super-stardom. But are steroids safe? Should professional athletes try to win at all costs, or should there be ethical constraints in professional sports that would, among other things, curtail the use of chemical substances that give users a significant advantage over their competition?
Andrew Flescher, director for Center Applied and Professional Ethics, will moderate the forum. Serving on the panel will be Donald Chu, Department of Kinesiology; Robert Cottrell, Department of History; Marcel Daguerre, Department of Philosophy; and Dave Casper, former tight end of the Oakland Raiders and Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Red State/Blue State: How Can We Talk to Each Other?
Wednesday, March 23, 7:30 pm, PAC 134
Following the presidential election last fall, the nation seems more polarized than before. Has rational discourse between people of differing viewpoints become all but a myth in America? Can a “red state” person even talk with a “blue state” person about issues of meaningful significance? This forum addressesthe “Red State” vs. “Blue State” phenomenon constructively, and with an eye toward a discussion of “moral values,” on which the recent election supposedly turned.
Joel Zimbelman, chair, Department of Religious Studies, will moderate this session. The panel will consist of Dan Herbert, businessman, city council member and former mayor of Chico; Father Peter Hansen, rector, St. Augustine Anglican Church; Lin Jensen, founder and teacher emeritus, Chico Zen Sangha; and Laurel Blankinship, host of Peace and Justice Program, KZFR.
Ivory Tower or Diploma Mill? The Purpose and Ethics of Higher Education
Wednesday, April 6, 7:30 pm, PAC 134
What is the purpose of higher education? Is a college degree essentially an economic credential, the hoop through which one must jump in order to be gainfully employed? Or, is higher education something that indeed does have intrinsic merit? Is the distribution of resources for higher education just?
Andrew Flescher will moderate this session. Panel members will include Paula Selvester and William Rich, Department of Education; Eric Gampel, Department of Philosophy; and Adam Dondro, president, Associated Students.
Outsourced and Out-Performed: Will Globalization and Free Trade Destroy the U.S. Work Force?
Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 pm, PAC 134
Douglas Ierley, attorney in the International Trade Practice Group of King & Spalding LLP (Washington, DC)
What is “globalization” and what is its relation to “outsourcing” (the practice of turning over responsibility for production of some to all of an organization’s information systems applications and operations to an outside firm)? Is unrestrained international free trade a defensible practice? Is it fair, in particular, to American employees? Is there an “ethics” of globalization?
Doug Ierley is an attorney with the International Trade Practice Group of King & Spalding LLP. He has published articles on the law, international trade and the World Trade Organization.
Prior to joining King & Spalding, Ierley worked in Washington, D.C. with the Legal and Judicial Reform Unit at the World Bank and as the program director for the Institute of International Economic Law at Georgetown University Law Center. Ierley received his BS in 1987 and his JD in 1990 from the University of Oregon. In 2002, he received his LLM, with distinction, from Georgetown University Law Center.