Ohio justice presides as Ohio Northern students vow to uphold business creed

10/23/2008
BY MEGHAN GILBERT
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp presides over the oath in the James. F. Dicke College of Business Administration.
Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp presides over the oath in the James. F. Dicke College of Business Administration.

ADA, Ohio - Business students at Ohio Northern University have sworn to uphold a new honor code that will prepare them as respectful, responsible, and committed business leaders.

The aspirational honor code was formally adopted Tuesday when Ohio Supreme Court Justice Robert Cupp presided over a swearing-in ceremony during which the college of business administration's freshman students committed to the code.

In accepting it, the students promise to strive for integrity, leadership, teamwork, continuous improvement, and community service.

"There has been for some time a lack of trust in business in the general population and we want to make sure our students go out there understanding they need to aspire to the highest values to make business work," said Paul Govekar, assistant professor of management at ONU. "Without trust, there are no free markets. And without free markets, our system won't work."

It was a student-led initiative to develop the ethics code.

Mr. Govekar, another faculty member, and four students met as a committee during the spring to establish the code. The faculty formally approved it last month.

The college's honor code reads:

"The James F. Dicke College of Business Administration (DCBA) is committed to developing global leaders by instilling the values of integrity, leadership, teamwork, continuous improvement, and community service. As a student in the DCBA, I adopt these values as my own.

In preparation for my future as a business professional, I will:

•Hold myself and others to the highest standard of character, respect, and veracity in all work. (Integrity)

•Build leadership abilities by developing character, charisma, knowledge and skills to communicate vision and motivate sound and timely action. (Leadership)

•Collaborate and cooperate with others to enhance the learning experience by embracing intellectual and cultural diversity and creative problem solving while striving to attain a common goal. (Teamwork)

•Continuously challenge myself and others by setting high standards and goals to be an active member of the learning community that strives for intellectual and personal growth. (Continuous Improvement)

•Reach out, face each task with purpose and passion, and utilize the talents and resources that I possess to improve society. (Community Service)."