Dixie State University Business and Ethics Forum

Dixie State University’s Udvar-Hazy School of Business will host its final Business and Ethics Forum series of the 2013 fall semester featuring a presentation by Washington County Economic Council director Scott Hirschi.
 
Hirschi’s presentation will focus on the history of economic development in the Washington County area. He will discuss how economic development strengthens the local economy and the part ethics play in successful economic development efforts.

A life-long resident of St. George, Hirschi completed vocational programs at both Dixie State and Southern Utah University. He also completed professional training in the subjects of business, finance and land use planning. Hirschi has served as director of the local economic development partnership known as Site Select Plus since 1996, and was recognized by Utah Business Magazine as one of Utah’s 100 Most Influential People.

The DSU Business and Ethics Forum is held every other Thursday throughout the fall and spring semesters, with each guest lecturer speaking on business matters in their respective professions and how ethics are introduced into the discussion. The Forums will return to its regular bi-monthly schedule for the 2014 spring semester beginning in January.

The bi-monthly forum, along with campus’ Institute for Business Integrity, was created by former DSU 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 DSU 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 DSU 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 University Institute for Business Integrity is a partnership between the DSU Udvar-Hazy School of Business, the Small Business Development Center, the Washington County Economic Development Council, and the St. George Area Chamber of Commerce.