VANCOUVER, Wash. – International accounting honor society Beta Alpha Psi has given one of four 2014 Ethics Awards to Washington State University Vancouver’s Nu Theta chapter.
The $2,500 award encourages students to develop solid ethical values and empowers them to act on these principles when challenged. The prize money will be used for club activities including participating in other competitions and attending national and regional meetings.
The Nu Theta chapter submitted a peer-to-peer best practice titled “Making Ethics Part of Our Culture.” It is based on the Giving Voice to Values framework, which is integral to the accounting curriculum in WSU’s Carson College of Business. Incoming business students take a series of workshops to develop an understanding of the ethical culture in the business program and to gain strategies for acting on their values.
Nu Theta members and candidates serve as peer coaches and mentors for incoming students with guidance from Jane Cote, academic director for the Carson College, and Claire Latham, associate professor of accounting. Student leaders are Keith Brub and Micah Elliott, both seniors majoring in accounting.
Beta Alpha Psi has more than 300 chapters in universities worldwide. Other recipients of the 2014 Ethics Award were Portland State University, Seattle University and the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.