In October, I had the privilege of speaking at the 3rd Annual IA‑CEO Employee Ownership Conference. In my closing remarks, I reflected on the meaningful connection between David Wilson’s generous gift to the college and the work of those attending the conference. At our naming celebration, David emphasized the importance of ethical capitalism, and, in subsequent conversations, he shared his deeply held belief in helping employees build wealth. His philosophy aligns seamlessly with the purpose and vision of IA‑CEO and that of the conference attendees. If you have two minutes, you can view my remarks here.

As you will learn, the Wilson Ethics Fellows and the Wilson Ethics Chair continue to expand opportunities for our students to strengthen their critical-thinking abilities through the study of ethics. I have no doubt that David Wilson will be pleased with the direction and momentum of this work.

Welcome back! I hope you found some spring in your break!

Leslie K. Wilson
Dean

Expanding Ethics Education

The Wilson Ethics Fellows and other Philosophy and World Religions (PWR) faculty have been developing some dynamic new courses that engage with urgent emerging issues and support Wilson College of Business priorities. 

The new courses all feature in a revised PWR major recently approved by the Board of Regents:  Ethics, Philosophy and Religion. This major is slated to include a track specifically designed for business majors: Ethics for Organizational Success. This track requires a double major in business. 

We are pleased to see these three new or updated courses emerge from this work: 

• Ethics in the Age of AI is a 2000-level UNIFI course in the Responsibility category. This course is included in Wilson College’s new AI certificate.

• Business, Ethics and Society, currently a 3000/5000-level Management course, has been substantially reworked and renamed “Ethics, Responsible AI, and Business,” with a focus on the normative and business dimensions of generative AI. This course is required within the new AI major.

• Ethical Capitalism will be a 4000-level capstone within the new PWR major track and will be taught for the first time in Spring 2027.

The Fellows are also serving on a search committee for a third Wilson Ethics Fellow who will begin in Fall 2026. We are pleased to be working collaboratively with Wilson College to support the vision of the Wilson College naming donor, David W. Wilson.

Financial Goals

• Development Officers annually raise ≥ $1.5M
• Endowment ≥ $40M by 2028
• Wilson Fund for Excellence averages $150K/year
• Live Purple Give Gold draws 60 Young Alumni annually
• Self-generated income reaches $300K annually by 2028

Thank you all for your help reaching these goals!

Students in the Wilson College of Business have a unique asset: the Wilson Ethics Fellows. The Fellows work to ensure that students develop the ethical agility required for 21st-Century leadership. By integrating high-level research into the classroom, the Wilson Ethics Fellows bridge the gap between abstract theory and the "gray areas" of modern management, providing the critical frameworks needed to navigate the ethical complexities of global commerce. Their collective work equips Wilson students with the analytical tools to manage risk, lead with integrity, and address the challenges of an increasingly automated marketplace. 

Robert Earle translates high-level scholarship on global ethics and environmental stewardship into actionable insights, utilizing his publications to anchor the college’s Professional Readiness Program. His leadership in international ethics forums and the Iowa Philosophical Society prepares students to navigate the "cosmopolitan" demands of global commerce while maintaining rigorous standards of professional integrity. 

Nick Sars works with "midlevel" ethical frameworks that solve practical dilemmas in AI accountability and corporate responsibility, linking abstract moral theory and day-to-day managerial practice. By investigating the human element of accountability in automated systems and the ethics of practices such as payday lending, he prepares students to lead ethically in tech-driven and complex financial sectors.

Examples of their published work include:

• Robert Earle, “Against Ignorance: The Normative Ethics Consensus Requiring Our Seeking to Know the Interests of Strangers,” under review at Utilitas. SJR Q1

• Book Reviews by Robert Earle published in Teaching Philosophy: (Vol. 47, No. 1, Jan. 2024) SJR Q2 of Christopher Preston’s Tenacious Beasts: Wildlife Recoveries that Change How We Think about Animals (2023, MIT Press) and (Vol. 44, No. 3, Sept. 2021) of Erin McKenna’s Living With Animals: Rights, Responsibilities, and Respect (2021, Rowman & Littlefield).

• Sars, Nicholas. “On Midlevel Theorizing in Business Ethics.” Business & Professional Ethics Journal [forthcoming]. SJR Q2

• Nicholas Sars, “Relational Objectivity,” Theoria 91(3) [2025]. SJR Q1

• Nicholas Sars, “Engineering Responsibility,” Ethics & Information Technology 24(3) [2022]. SJR Q1

Together, the Fellows’ impact is felt beyond the classroom, as they publish and speak at venues in the Cedar Valley, across the country, and around the world. The Fellows are hard at work expanding ethics education across campus and beyond.

Michael Graziano
Interim Department Head and Associate Professor, Philosophy & World Religions

Birthdays:

• March 21 — Jordan McNamara
• March 25 — Shuxian Xiao
• March 26 — Maddy Bolte
• Apr 11 — Yihong Liu
• Apr 14 — Zheng Cheng
• Apr 19 — Laura Wilson
• Apr 23 — Emily Obermeier
• Apr 30 — Rebecca Kramer

WORKiversaries

• 2021 — Jordan McNamara
• 2024 — Kimberly Schipper

Want to see your birthday or work anniversary featured? Celebration Station is opt-in only. If you want to be included, let your supervisor know.

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