CEBC IN THE NEWS

Press Release

For Immediate Release
June 4, 2004

Contact: 

Ron James
President and CEO
Phone: (651) 962-4123
Email: rjames@cebcglobal.org

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — The Minneapolis-based Center for Ethical Business Cultures (CEBC) will enter a permanent joint venture with the University of St. Thomas College of Business, effective July 1.

St. Thomas will help the Center to build an endowment to ensure its long-term stability and expand research through faculty partnerships.  The Center, the nation's longest-running, business-led organization focusing on corporate responsibility and business ethics, will continue to work with other academic institutions including the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management; however, it will be affiliated solely with the St. Thomas College of Business.  CEBC continues as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit guided by a board of directors elected by its business members.

According to CEBC President and CEO Ron James, "CEBC's purpose has never been more relevant and needed than in these times, when restoring trust and confidence in the integrity of business is so critical. Last month the Center celebrated 25 years of service to the business community.  This relationship brings added stability and academic resources to the Center as it prepares to deliver increased services in the coming years."

CEBC plans to expand its public programs, such as last year's White-Collar Crime Symposium, a collaborative effort with the St. Thomas School of Law and the U.S. Attorney's Office; it was recognized by Twin Cities Business Monthly as the best business program of the year.  The Center also has received grants to aid it in developing programs and case studies for business leaders.

The Center has participated in several national efforts aimed at encouraging ethical behavior in business, including President Bush's Forum on Corporate Responsibility and an advisory group to the U.S. Sentencing Commission.  This involvement has led to increasing requests for the Center's services. CEBC staffers have been invited to speak in more than 60 local, regional and national settings over the past year.

The Center's growing list of services includes Ethical Leadership Training Development Services; the CEBC Integrity Survey, designed to help organizations gauge their ethical environment; and Advisory Services designed to assist boards and executives.

"The influence that both CEBC and the College of Business have had on the practice of corporate ethics has grown significantly over the past 10 years," said Dr. Christopher Puto, Dean of the St. Thomas College of Business and a CEBC board member for the past two years. "The Center has become a leading authority in diagnosing healthy organizational cultures, and the College of Business has emerged as one of only a few schools in the nation to devote significant resources to business ethics research, curriculum and outreach.  By creating a permanent home for the Center at St. Thomas, we're better linking scholarly examinations of business ethics to the concrete dilemmas encountered in workplaces across the country."

CEBC was established as the Minnesota Project on Corporate Responsibility in March 1978 by leading Minnesota CEOs such as Kenneth Dayton (Dayton-Hudson), Judson Bemis (Bemis Corp.), Anthony Andersen (H.B. Fuller), David Koch (Graco) and others committed to the highest standards of business conduct and corporate citizenship.  The Center assists business leaders in creating ethical and profitable business cultures at organizational, community and global levels.

The Center's name was changed to the Minnesota Center for Corporate Responsibility when it incorporated in 1982. In 1988 it began partnering with the University of St. Thomas.  In 1998 the organization added an affiliation with the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.  That year the Center also adopted its current name.

The Center is best known for developing the Minnesota Principles,  which have evolved into a set of global business principles known as the Caux Round Table Principles for Business.  The Center has an ongoing relationship with the Caux Round Table, a Swiss-based organization of senior business leaders from the Americas, Europe and Asia.  Now translated into 16 languages, the Caux Principles are used by corporations and governments worldwide.

St. Thomas, a Catholic, coeducational institution, is Minnesota's largest private university.  It has business alumni in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.

Center for Ethical Business Cultures

1000 LaSalle Avenue, TMH 331 ▪ Minneapolis, MN 55403-2005 ▪ USA

Phone: 651 962 4120 or 800 328 6819 Ext. 2-4120 ▪ Facsimile: 651 962 4042

Email: mail@cebcglobal.org

© 1978-2008 Center for Ethical Business Cultures. All Rights Reserved.

Business Partnering with the University of St. Thomas - Minnesota