2nd Annual Blackburn Lecture logo

Ethics and Civility: What Do We Owe One Another as Citizens and Market Players?

Thursday, January 22nd, 2015 | 6:00 P.M.
Lisner Auditorium
730 21st Street, NW
Washington, DC 20052


The GW School of Business invites students, alumni, faculty and staff to the second-annual Richard W. Blackburn Endowed Lecture on Civility and Integrity. This year's lecture will be delivered by Harvard political philosopher and bestselling author Michael Sandel. Mr. Sandel will speak on themes related to the importance of civility and integrity in business conduct.

This annual lecture serves as the capstone signature event for the undergraduate School of Business First Year Development Program, a two semester-long course sequence required for all first-year undergraduate students. The program’s curriculum designed to enhance the education of undergraduate students and begin their preparation for future careers includes classwork on academic integrity and ethics, professional communications, ethical issues in business, and leadership, all with a strong focus on individual strength assessments, self-reflections, career development and what it means to be a GWSB student.

In addition to the lecture, during the event the FYDP students will pledge to uphold the George Washington University School of Business Honor Oath, committing to an academic and professional career founded on integrity and civility.

About Michael Sandel

Michael SandelHarvard political philosopher and bestselling author Michael Sandel challenges audiences to examine the ethical dilemmas we confront in politics and in our everyday lives. Sandel’s legendary course "Justice" has enrolled over 15,000 students and was the first Harvard course to be made freely available online and on public television. In his latest bestseller, What Money Can't Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets, Sandel invites readers to rethink the role that money and markets should play in our lives. Sandel served for four years on the President's Council on Bioethics, exploring the ethical implications of new biomedical technologies. This prompted him to write The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering, a book about the moral quandaries that arise when we seek to perfect our children and ourselves. His other books include Democracy’s Discontent, Liberalism and the Limits of Justice, and Public Philosophy: Essays on Morality in Politics. Read More

About Richard W. Blackburn

Richard Blackburn headshotThe Richard W. Blackburn Endowed Lecture on Civility and Integrity was established through a generous endowment gift to the GW School of Business from Mr. Blackburn. A distinguished alumnus of the Law School, Mr. Blackburn is Retired Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer for Duke Energy and a trustee of the George Washington University. Mr. Blackburn endowed the lecture because of his belief that success in business always depends on trust and that civility and integrity are the essential foundations for creating and sustaining that trust.

Online registration for this event has now closed.