October 16, 2019
Each year, the University System of Georgia (USG) highlights its ethical culture during Ethics Awareness Week, this year Nov. 11-17, through a statewide SPIRIT of USG campaign focused on stewardship, prevention, integrity, responsibility, inspiration, and trust. In support of this effort, the University of North Georgia (UNG) plans to "Celebrate our Ethical Culture" during Ethics Awareness Week.
The USG campaign is part of a comprehensive Ethics and Compliance Program, including ethics training, mandatory compliance training, assurance audits, consulting engagements, and an ethics and compliance reporting hotline.
The weeklong ethics awareness campaign is designed to remind members of the USG of shared ethical values and expectations, to include excellence, integrity, accountability and respect.
At UNG, "Celebrate our Ethical Culture" examines ethics while celebrating institutional values of excellence, student focus, integrity, engagement and service. To kick-off Ethics Awareness Week, UNG will hold an Ethics and Eggs Breakfast from 8:30-9:45 a.m. Nov. 11 on the Dahlonega Campus. The event, which is open to the UNG community and the public, will feature a panel discussion on affordability and degree attainment.
"Our mission is to develop students into leaders for a diverse and global society, and foundational to that is a culture of ethical leadership and character development that envelops our entire university community," UNG President Bonita Jacobs said. “This week gives us special opportunity to examine ethics through the lens of our institutional values – excellence, student-focus, integrity, engagement, and service."
Jill Holman, UNG's director of internal audit, leads the university's efforts.
"In my opinion, focusing on our ethical culture by highlighting our core values, our vision, and our mission at UNG will further encourage and develop ethical behaviors in our employees and in our students. Each year we take this opportunity to focus on our values and encourage ethical decision–making," Holman said.
Rose Procter, director of the BB&T Center for Ethical Leadership within UNG's Mike Cottrell College of Business, serves on the SPIRIT of USG planning committee and is coordinating related efforts through the center system-wide.
A number of events to promote ethics are being held in conjunction with Ethics Week and throughout the semester, including: