The Ethics Club at UW tackles ethical dilemmas related to business while also finding ways to give back to the community.
“We really give people a framework of how to make ethical decisions,” Club President Tucker Norman said.
Some cases the Ethics Club has focused on include Carhart’s decision to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for its employees, Apple’s privacy laws, as well as cases in the tourism and restaurant industries.
The club is open to anyone at UW, but many of its aims are focused on business ethics.
“Business now is moving from ‘how much can I get’ to more of ‘how much can I give’ because that will end up becoming reciprocated back to you in positive ways which we’ve seen,” Norman said.
Five years ago, the Ethics Club began SparkTank, the club’s philanthropic effort to raise funds for local nonprofits.
“The ethics club became a really good vehicle for us to engage with our community,” club advisor and business ethics professor Kent Noble said.
“It started off fairly simple. The first year we raised $10,000 and our process wasn’t as defined as it is now, but it has really grown and evolved over the years,” Noble said.
According to Noble, this year’s SparkTank could receive between $80,000 and $100,000 in donations.
“The end of the year event where we make a big difference for these nonprofits is such a big deal for us,” Norman said. “The satisfaction you get from it is greater than any monetary value you can assign to it.”
The club members research different, local nonprofits throughout the year, before selecting finalists to present at an event which will take place on April 28 this year.
This year’s nonprofit finalists include the Laramie SAFE project, My Front Door, Healthy Kids Rx, and the Cathedral Home.
Noble emphasized the importance of student leaders like Norman and other club officers.
“I just so appreciate how the students are involved in something bigger than themselves and the stories that come from SparkTank are very gratifying. You know you’re making a difference for sure.”
Norman said that the ethics club has received engagement from many clubs and organizations across campus and in the community.
“Just making a change and making a difference is why a lot of clubs have reached out to me and would like to be a part of SparkTank,” Norman said. “It’s super awesome to see that all these other organizations want to do something that’s greater than themselves and the fact that we already have a system to do that is super awesome.”
Noble also said that he thought it was important for community leaders to give back to the community.
“I just really think it’s important as ethical business and community leaders that we do support our community and our nonprofits,” Noble said. “There’s a lot of people out there that, for whatever reason, are unable to meet their needs and as the next generation of ethical business and community leaders, if we can somehow help them to do that, to have a healthy community, I think that’s what we’re all about.”
