Clovis Roundup Staff
The Leon S. Peters Ethics Lecture Series begins its spring semester lineup at 6 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9, with a panel discussion on “Journalism, Fake News and The First Amendment” in the Alice Peters Auditorium (Peters Business building).
The panel will feature Jim Boren, executive editor and senior vice president of The Fresno Bee; Joe Moore, director of program content for Valley Public Radio and two assistant professors in the Department of Media, Communications and Journalism: Faith Sidlow and Jes Therkelsen.
“Fake news is in the news and the news media are under assault,” said Dr. Andrew Fiala, director of The Ethics Center and chair of the Fresno State Philosophy Department. “Panelists will discuss the state of journalism in 2017.”
The free, public series is sponsored by The Ethics Center with the support of the Leon S. Peters Foundation.
The Ethics Center serves as the University’s hub of research, evaluation and practice for the ethical behaviors and thinking skills that students need as they enter their chosen professions. Its mission is to understand and promote ethical leadership across the curriculum and within communities. The center is supported by the College of Arts and Humanities and its lecture series is sponsored by a gift from the Leon S. Peters Foundation.
Remaining lectures in the series this semester include:
Feb. 23 (6 to 7:30 p.m.), North Gym 118: “Nonviolence Then and Now” is a lecture by Dr. James Lawson Jr. who is widely regarded as the pioneer of nonviolent tactics in the American Civil Rights Movement. Martin Luther King, Jr. described him as “the leading theorist and strategist of nonviolence in the world.” The lecture is cosponsored by the Peace and Conflict Studies program, College of Arts and Humanities, Womack Fund, The Harnish Fund, President’s Commission on Human Relations and Equity, Cross Cultural and Gender Center, Africana Studies and Gandhi Memorial Education Fund.
March 14 (6 to 7 p.m.), Alice Peters Auditorium: Entrepreneurs often tell a good story to their investors, but sometimes things get out of control and ethical challenges arise. Professor of entrepreneurship Melissa Baucus will discuss Ponzi Schemes and other stories from the dark side of entrepreneurial ethics in her lecture “Entrepreneurs on the Dark Side: Ethical Challenges and Ponzi Schemes.” The lecture is cosponsored by the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
March 15 (4:30 to 6:30 p.m.), Kremen Education 140: Dr. Richard Johanson is chair emeritus of the Fresno Business Council and founder of Johanson Transportation. In “A Lifetime of Ethical Stewardship,” he will discuss his entrepreneurial work in business and in community activism. The lecture is cosponsored by the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He also holds a California State University Honorary Doctorate Degree from Fresno State.
March 22 and 23 (4:30 to 6:30 p.m.), Fresno Pacific University Chapel (North Hall 123): The only off-campus event, this two-day discussion at FPU (1717 S. Chestnut Ave.) addresses vices and virtues such as vainglory and humility featuring philosophy professors from three universities: Calvin College professor Rebecca DeYoung, Biola University professor Kent Dunnington and Fresno State professor Andrew Fiala.
March 28 (6 to 7 p.m.), Alice Peters Auditorium: The human race has made remarkable progress in pursuit of wellbeing. Quality of life has significantly improved across the globe. Tony Carr, president of Halloran Philanthropies and former CEO of Fresno Heart and Surgical Hospital, will review evidence and provide insight into the global pursuit of wellbeing in his lecture, “Human Well-being: The Untold Story.”
April 5 (5 to 7 p.m.), Engineering East (Room 191): Christopher Meyers, director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics at California State University, Bakersfield, will share his insights into biomedical ethics. He will be joined by Fresno State philosophy professor James Rocha and Frank Beazley, vice president of mission integration at Saint Agnes Medical Center.