the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program
Bill Daniels
The is a partnership between 11 business schools and one law school across Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. The Collegiate Program drives the strengthening of principle-based ethics education throughout each participating school. The ultimate goal is to instill a high standard of ethics in our young people. To date, more than 450,000 students, faculty, and businesspeople have been reached by the Collegiate Program.
The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program was established by the Daniels Fund Board of Directors in 2009 as a five-year pilot. The effort was officially launched in early 2010 with eight business schools as initial partners. After a successful pilot phase, the Daniels Fund Board of Directors approved funding for an additional five years of the Collegiate Program (2015-2019), at which time three new colleges were accepted into the consortium, including Colorado Law as the consortium's first and only law school. In 2019, the Daniels Fund Board approved funding for the current phase of the Collegiate Program, which now consists of 12 partners.
Schools participating in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program become members of the Consortium. Working together, Consortium members leverage individual school achievements to further strengthen and expand ethics education in the region.
The Collegiate Program is one component of the , whose overall objective is to extend beyond philosophy and theory to real-world, practical application of ethical principles as a framework for personal and organizational decision making and leadership. This work is framed by the belief that ethics education must convey that principles are constant foundations—not relative to a specific situation—and that doing what is right prevails over self-interest when the two may appear to be in conflict.
The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative is dedicated to furthering the values and ideals of Bill Daniels, a Denver businessman known as one of the nation's most successful entrepreneurs. Bill Daniels believed deeply in ethics and integrity, and the importance of absolute ethical principles. As an exceptionally honest and fair businessman, he always based his decisions on what he believed was right, not just on what he thought was best for himself or his company. This attitude and style of conducting business earned Bill tremendous respect and loyalty throughout the business world. After calling Denver home for much of his life, he spent his final years planning the Daniels Fund, one of the largest charitable foundations in the Rocky Mountain region. .
Principles
Eight Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative principles form the philosophical foundation of all Ethics Initiative activities:
- Integrity - Act with honesty in all situations
- Trust - Build trust in all stakeholder relationships
- Accountability - Accept responsibility for all decisions
- Transparency - Maintain open and truthful communications
- Fairness - Engage in fair competition and create equitable and just relationships
- Respect - Honor the rights, freedoms, views, and property of others
- Rule of Law - Comply with the spirit and intent of laws and regulations
- Viability - Create long-term value for all relevant stakeholders
