Dixie State College Business and Ethics Forum

Dixie State College of Utah's Udvar-Hazy School of Business continues its bi-monthly Business and Ethics Forum series for the 2012-13 academic year by featuring a presentation on entrepreneurism by Berkeley Geddes, CEO of Grow America Ventures.

Geddes, who also addressed the forum last January, is a self-described serial entrepreneur who has started over 24 for profit businesses, 17 of which have reached the proven point and achieved market success. He has aspired to be an entrepreneur champion and has sought to create an on-line environment of training, support and encouragement for all entrepreneurs.

Prior to becoming Grow America Ventures CEO, Geddes created “DooBizz.com” and co-founded Arizona’s largest Venus disease service organization-Vanishing Veins. He also created the Perinatal Women’s Center in Arizona, and before entering the medical market, Geddes founded “Gang of Four”, co-founded WhizBang Labs and launched FlipDog, an online recruiting website.

The series will continue Oct. 18, with a presentation by DSC coordinator of cultural affairs and St. George City Councilwoman Gail Bunker. In addition, local businessman Jeff Stewart will address the forum Nov. 1; Best Buy department manager Greg Whitehead will speak Nov. 15; and DSC senior development officer and Utah State Legislator Brad Last will wrap up the semester schedule with a presentation Dec. 6.

Each speaker throughout the semester will speak on business matters in their respective professions and have been asked to integrate ethics into the discussion.

The bi-monthly forum, along with campus’ Institute for Business Integrity, was created by former DSC president Dr. Robert Huddleston in 2006, as a way to integrate ethics into the curriculum, and have it serve as a blueprint to ensure that students graduate with a set of ethical tools to help them get along in the professional world.

In 2006-07, Dixie State’s business program sought initial accreditation with the high profile Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). In order to become accredited with the AACSB, ethics were required to be integrated into the college’s business curriculum. As a result, each business class on the DSC campus now includes an ethical component.

Dr. Huddleston noted that the business forums will give students – and current and prospective local business owners – an added dose of ethics training that is so sorely needed into today’s business world. His hope is that by the time students leave Dixie State, they have been exposed to enough ethical cases that, when they get out in the workforce, they will have the wherewithal and the intestinal fortitude to do the right thing, even when their job might be on the line.  

“The Institute for Business Integrity has brought an important opportunity for the business community, as well as DSC faculty and students, to emphasize the significance of social responsibility for business and industry in Washington County,” said Huddleston. “As research indicates, ethics contribute to employee commitment, investor loyalty, customer satisfaction and to profits.”

The Dixie State College Institute for Business Integrity is a partnership between the Udvar-Hazy School of Business at Dixie State College, the Small Business Development Center, the Washington County Economic Development Council, and the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce.