NMSU’s College of Business is providing students an opportunity to get a jump-start on real-world ethical decision-making that will benefit and prepare them in their academic, professional and personal lives.
As part of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program and the College of Business, Erin Baca Blaugrund ’91 ’93, marketing professor and director of Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative, initiated the first Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Boot Camp in April 2022, and has seen much success in the outcome.
“We have now successfully run three separate ethics boot camps and are using this event to facilitate and reinforce principle-based ethics and encourage discussion through the boot camp with freshmen and transfer students,” Blaugrund says.
The boot camp is designed to supplement students’ core ethics education via activities, lectures from successful business professionals, and interactive discussions that allow students to practice their ethical decision-making skills. Students have the chance to jump on board during a one-day event in the spring and again in the fall.
“Our participation and involvement in this event started at 112 students in spring 2022, with at least 50 to 60 students at one single time, and grew to 164 students registered with over 100 participating throughout the day,” she says.
Blaugrund explains that students gain several benefits through the experience including introduction to real-world ethical decision making by those who consistently practice ethical frameworks; inspiration to become ethically and socially responsible business leaders by engaging with others in discussions and activities; promotion of confidence and moral courage among students to analyze others’ behavior and intervene when appropriate and necessary; and exposure to ethical situations that may arise in their future careers and ways to solve these ethical dilemmas.
“The program is centered around giving students an opportunity to think about ethics from a lifelong perspective,” Blaugrund says. “I witnessed first-hand the impact generated by the boot camp when students who attended a previous boot camp volunteer to be a leader for the following boot camp. Students invest in themselves by becoming leaders and volunteering their time. As an alum, I love having students learn life lessons that they can take away and use in their everyday lives. I had professors that did this for me when I was a student and feel fortunate to be in a position to give back to our students now.”
The next boot camp is scheduled for September 2023. Blaugrund says the goal is to register more than 200 participants.
Erin Baca Blaugrund is an NMSU marketing professor and director of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative, which provides students an opportunity to learn about ethical decision-making.
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305 N. Horseshoe Drive
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