The academic centerpiece of Emory’s Inauguration Celebra-tion will be a symposium on “Emerging Challenges for Ethics and Leadership in the Professions,” and that is only appropriate, according to organizer and moderator Jim Fowler.

“That in itself says something about this administration,” said Fowler, Charles Howard Candler Professor of Theology and Human Development and director of the Center for Ethics. “It seemed an obvious choice of subjects after spending last fall working on a values statement for the University. That’s a very unusual way for a president to start his administration, and it signaled that ethics and values are going to be visible and significant components of this administration.”

Fowler was referring, of course, to the Emory Vision Statement, whose development was one of the first projects launched after President Jim Wagner arrived on campus last September. Wagner often has spoken of Emory as a “values-guided” institution, and when he and University Secretary Gary Hauk were discussing Inauguration-related events, an exploration of ethics seemed natural.

To be held Tuesday, March 30, from 4–6 p.m. in WHSCAB Auditorium, the symposium specifically will examine “front-edge” ethical issues in the professions, according to Fowler. Panelists from each of Emory’s professional schools (and one from outside the University) will tackle current and emerging ethical challenges in their respective fields. The speakers include:

• Jim Curran, dean and professor of epidemiology in the Rollins School of Public Health.

• Pierre Ferrari, president of the Hot Fudge Social Venture Fund and a partner in Tula Communications, a consulting firm that specializes in strategic planning and design including corporate social responsibility as a practice.

• Frances Smith Foster, Charles Howard Candler Professor of English and Women’s Studies and associated faculty in African American and American studies.

• Thomas Long, Bandy Professor of Preaching in the Candler School of Theology.

• Michael Perry, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law.

• Tammie Quest, director of postgraduate education in emergency medicine in the School of Medicine.

• Diana Robertson, associate professor of organization and management in Goizueta Business School.

• Stuart Zola, director of the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences.

“People in all of Emory’s schools are dealing with issues that are bigger than their professions,” Fowler said. “So I hope this will be a renewal and deepening of joint teaching, and that it will address ethical issues that link the professions.”

The symposium will be broadcast via closed-circuit television to Crawford Long and Grady hospitals and also webcast; the link to the webcast can be found on the main Inauguration website. For more information, call Paul Ficklin-Alred at the ethics center at 404-727-1208.