PSU Magazine Fall 1988

I AROUND THE PARK BLOCKS Publisher lauds Ethic classes Reprinted from the Business Journal, July 25, 1988, Publisher's Notebook by Robert Fisher. With a bit of fanfare, the Harvard Business School recently announced it will require entering M.B.A. students to take a three-week course on business ethics. And with predictable knee-jerk reaction, educators around the country now say they, too, will consider offering a similar program. "Anything Harvard does makes the rest of us thoughtful. I daresay there will be consideration of it," said Lawrence Lavengood of Northwestern University's Kellogg Graduate School of Management in an interview with The New York Times. But don't bother telling them all this at Portland State University. It seems our local business school has been requir– ing business ethics for more than five years. "It helps students understand the kind of ethical dilemmas they may run into," says Vergil Miller, dean of the School of Business at PSU. In November 1987, Steven Brenner was named a sponsored professor of business ethics and corporate social responsibility, a program supported by the Chiles Foundation. Currently, he is working on a national study of business and government rela– tions activities of Fortune 500 companies. Miller says the ethics work , part of a larger course, is taught to both undergraduates and graduate students. With insider trading scandals and the increasing news of corporate misconduct, ethics in business has been gaining a fo llowing. In March 1987, John Shad, the former chairman of the Securities and Ex– change Commission, gave Harvard $23 million to support ethics research. Too bad he didn't know PSU has been teaching it for years. But it's another ex– ample of the East Coast ignorance of the existence of life west of Philadelphia. PSU 2 The Electra Project It is said that European cultures, such as our own, are based upon ancient Greek concepts: the reasoned opinion, the measured tone. But that structured, analytical manner wasn't always in vogue in ancient Greece. Then, as today, reason warred with emotions and revenge strain– ed against justice. Director William Tate will explore these universals of the human spirit in a new play this fall at PSU, tentatively titled "The Electra Project." A wife kills her husband for a just cause; a daughter and son kill their mother, also for a just cause. But what is justice? Is "j ust vengeance" a contradic– tion in terms? Tate intends to pose those questions and more via a fusion of two, maybe three Greek plays: the "Electra" by Euripides and by Sophocles and the "Orestes" by Euripides. The fact that these plays have continued to exist for so many centuries indicates their relevancy; Tate says his job is to make them accessible and exciting to modern audiences. "The Electra Project" will play November 2-5 and 9-12 at 8 p.m. in Lin– coln Hall Auditorium. For ticket informa– tion call 464- 4440. For information about auditions (expected in late September) call 464- 4612. Conference to focus on women Strengthening ties between women is the aim of the Northwest Womens Studies Association's upcoming conference en– titled "Joining at the Crossroads: Women's Thoughts, Actions, and Com– munity." The conference, to be held at Portland State University Oct. 7-9, will feature keynote addresses by noted women writers and scholars Ursula Le Guin, Paula Gunn Allen, Bell Hooks and Mit– suye Yamada, as well as workshops, presentations, roundtables and entertain– ment. During the three day conference, a broad range of topics will be discussed in panel and workshop settings, such as : Women's mentoring initiatives, Workplace issues, Women and aging, Comparable worth, Women writers, Women artists of many colors, and Unlearning racism. Registration before Sept. 21 for the full conference is $40 general, $15 students; one day registration is $20 and $10 re– spectively. Other payment options are available. For registration information call PSU's Division of Continuing Education at 464-4812. For further details about the conference, housing, child care, etc. call PSU's Women's Studies Certificate Pro– gram at 464-3516. Planning students assist OHSU Cars, buses, people, people, and more people make for an uneasy coexistence for Oregon Health Sciences University and the surrounding Homestead Neigh– borhood. In the spirit of neighborliness, OHSU contracted with Portland State University's School of Urban Studies and Planning to look at the area's problems and future needs. This became a class project for in– structor Michael S. Harrison, chief plan-