Veronica Wilkerson Johnson

Ethics Cases/IDSL 860

April 24, 2014
Ethics Cases
Case 1. The Faculty/Staff Campaign Jennifer Coombs is the
new development officer at Capital City Community College.
She joined the college in the early planning stages of a
capital campaign. One of the first tasks that Jennifer is
responsible for is the "family" campaign involving faculty and
staff. Her president has volunteered to speak at the next
faculty/staff assembly and make it clear that all employees
are expected to give to the campaign. He has given his gift
and, to make it easier for everyone, the HR department has
established a payroll deduction program. Pledge cards will be
handed out and collected at the end of the assembly
meeting.
A. What should you do?
4.Try to convince the president that 100% participation by
coercion has ethical implications.
Respectfully, it will be necessary to talk with the President.
Short of United Way Campaigns each year, there are few
causes that are acceptable reasons for a college leader to
force employee participation in giving. Coercing faculty and
staff to donate to the college borders on being unethical, and
could negatively impact employee morale.
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B. Suppose an influential faculty member requests that you

ask the president to forego the idea due to
impending union negotiations. Would it be ethical to do so?
3. It depends
Union negotiations are to be respected, and if there are
potential ethical considerations at issue here. Depending on
the nature of current union/college concerns, it would be

best to not add insult to injury by including staff obligatory

giving in the mix.
----------------------------------C. Suppose the president asks you for the list of those who
have and havent contributed. Would it be ethical to provide
it?
2. No
Again, using the example of the United Way, our college
encourages campus wide contribution to this humanitarian
partner, and our President receives a list of who has
contributed and the amount. That is allowable for a cause
where the whole college is working together to assist a
fellow non-profit in its efforts in the community. It is
different, however, when the forced donations are for the
college itself, and employees may have biases or concerns
about giving based on their employment status, salary, job
contentment, or whether they are alumni of the college and
are therefore already giving in some capacity to the college.
If a list were given to the President it would be an invasion of
the employees' privacy, and I think that the aforementioned
caveats about their individual circumstances would then
need to be included for explanatory fairness and consistency.
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Case 2. The Questionable Donor
Your community college desperately needs a new
science laboratory building. The nearest community
college is miles away, and students at your college are
coping with generally inferior biology, chemistry and physics
labs. Shortly after the college announces a capital campaign,
a local businessperson offers to donate the entire cost of the
new building, provided the college names the building after
him.

A. Suppose the donor is known as an underworld figure who

allegedly makes his money from drug trafficking. Would it be
a violation of Ethical Principles to accept the money?
1. Yes
Our President once recounted a situation in which a person,
much like the underworld figure described, approached the
college leadership and offered to fund the entire cost of a
new building in exchange for it being named in his honor.
The concern was that his brushes with the law, and his
known reputation for legal and criminal misconduct cast a
pall over the offer, and the President and Board concluded
that affiliation with him would mar the reputation of the
college.
------------------------------------------B. Suppose the donor in question actually went to jail for
drug trafficking, served his time, and is now "legit. Would it
be a violation of Ethical Principles to accept the money?
1. Yes
The lingering perception that the college, or at least its
leaders, is affiliated with an ex-criminal would still be
problematic for the college's reputation.
-------------------------------------------C. Suppose the donor is willing to forget putting his name on
the building but will give the money only if he
is named to the college's foundation board.
Should you accept the money
2. No
The same principal applies. The adage "association brings
on assimilation" would apply here. Foundation Board
members are ambassadors for the college. The Foundation
Board reaches out to the community for funding, and it is a
cheer team for the merits of the college and its assets to the
community. It provides support and it does the "ask" in
many instances. Imagine an ex-racketeer in this role. Would

donors, or the community, feel comfortable, or fearful, about

giving under these circumstances?
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Case 3.
Sad Family Business
As president you are eager to develop your colleges track
record with regard to private philanthropic investment. At
your urging the trustees have adopted this as one of the
colleges strategic initiatives. A widower agrees to make a
substantial gift to the college to honor his late wife. But,
without the donors knowledge, his daughter asks you not to
accept the gift because of potential hardship for the family.
A. What should you do?
3. Inform the widower of the daughters request.
It would be prudent to encourage the daughter and her
father to come to an understanding before involving the
college. I would recommend delaying the acceptance of the
gift until thry have communicated. This would prevent
complications and the potential of an unhappy donor family
affecting the college's reputation.
-------------------------------------------B. Suppose the daughter asked you to postpone accepting
the gift until she can talk with her
father. Would it be ethical to decline her request?
2. No
This action of declining the daughter's request would make
the college seem unethical, uncaring and desperate. What
could it hurt to postpone action, and allow privacy and
civility while this family comes to terms with its unified plan
of giving? Such empathy would seemingly endear the
daughter and father to the college, and could foster
additional contributions in the future.

-------------------------------------------C. Suppose the widower resides in a nursing home, and you

know he is lonely and in failing health.
Would it be ethical to comply with the daughters request to
reject the gift?
1. Yes
Again, it would be unfair to the daughter for the college to
proceed out of selfish interest without allowing the family to
collaborate on their intentions. It appears that the father is
mentally alert, and that it would be fine for his daughter to
talk with him as we stand by while they work out the details.
This patience and kindness will pay off in the end, and will
send the message that the college is not a vulture,
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Ethics Case selected and modified from the AFP Ethics
Leadership Guide. William M. Craft, Ed.D., CFRE