On May 20 at the spring commencement ceremony, the College of Business added 236 alumni to its rolls.  These new graduates are prepared for a much different world than I was when I graduated from Penn State.  For one thing, the speed of information has increased.  With social media, smart phones, podcasts, and tablet PCs, there's no lack of information available to our graduates.  For another, the ethical landscape has changed, and hopefully for the better.  We have worked not only to increase these new graduates' technical knowledge of business, but also to enhance their ethical decision making skills thanks to the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the UCCS College of Business.

We know that students are likely to encounter ethical quandaries in any type of business setting, so preparing them to recognize and think through issues, and then develop sound solutions is critical for helping them build successful futures. That's why the ethics initiative is so important to us.

Next week, our entire community has yet another opportunity to learn more about addressing ethical concerns in business at Small Business Day.  Sherron Watkins, the Enron vice president who warned the company in 2001 about internal accounting scandals, will be part of a morning workshop and will give the keynote address at the luncheon.  Her presentation is funded by the College of Business Daniels Ethics Initiative - we believe her message is THAT important.  If you have not already done so, I encourage you to register at the Small Business Development Center's website.