NEWS

HonorCarolina, starting this month, aims to revive cherished campus tradition

CHAPEL HILL -- The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill this month is launching a campus wide initiative called HonorCarolina to focus campus attention on such topics as honor, ethics and integrity.

The far-reaching initiative grows in part out of the work last year of the Committee on Student Conduct to revise the university’s honor code. That work and campus deliberations followed recommendations from a special chancellor’s task force that reviewed the student judicial system the previous year.

"HonorCarolina begins with the recent adoption of an updated and more meaningful Honor Code, but it doesn’t end there," said Dr. Robert Shelton, executive vice chancellor and provost. "Our goal is to build on and renew Carolina’s long-standing tradition of honor by inviting the entire university community – faculty, students, staff, alumni, trustees and friends -- to make a public commitment through discussions and activities focusing on honor, ethics, integrity and citizenship in academics, in the workplace and in all aspects of life."

Shelton appointed the committee of faculty, students and staff that developed HonorCarolina, which will sponsor events throughout the year. The kick off will come during Honor and Integrity Week, Sept. 22-26.

It begins Monday, Sept. 22, at noon with presentations by Chancellor James Moeser, Shelton and others in the Pit and other campus sites. Following remarks, the university community will be invited to build a temporary monument to honor near the top of the Frank Porter Graham Student Union steps. Students will have opportunities to reaffirm their commitment to the honor code pledge that afternoon and throughout the week.

Lecturer Paul Jones, director of ibiblio, Law Professor John Conley and others will discuss "The Day the Music Died: File Sharing, MP3’s, Law and Ethics," at 7:30 p.m. in the School of Law Rotunda.

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, UNC President Emeritus William C. Friday and North Carolina photographer and conservationist Hugh Morton, a UNC alumnus, will discuss documentary photography and the ethical dimensions of Morton’s work. The "Tuesdays with Friday" discussion is set for noon in the James M. Johnston Center for Undergraduate Excellence in Graham Memorial. Chuck Stone, the Walter Spearman professor of journalism, will lead a discussion of real-world ethical dilemmas. "Ask the Ethicist" is set for Tuesday, Sept. 23, at noon in the Pit. Later, at 7:30 p.m., Associate Athletics Director John Blanchard, Lecturer and Associate Philosophy Chair Jan Boxill, and student-athletes and coaches will engage in a roundtable discussion on ethics and intercollegiate athletics. "The Rules of the Game: Athletics and Ethics," will be held in the Student Union auditorium.

On Wednesday, Sept. 24, UNC Board of Trustees members Tim Burnett, Jean Kitchin and Rusty Carter will join in a roundtable discussion about ethics in the business world. "What Wall Street Doesn’t Teach You" will be moderated by Professor Robert Adler of the Kenan-Flagler Business School at 10 a.m. in the Johnston Center.

Also on Wednesday, the public is invited to the John Calvin McNair Lecture on Religion and Science, presented by Dr. Kenneth R. Miller, professor of biology at Brown University and author of "Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground Between God and Evolution." The lecture is set for 7:30 p.m. in the Hanes Art Center auditorium. Advocates for Honor also will "Storm the Dorm for Honor" from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., visiting residence halls, student meetings and other campus locations to discuss the new Honor Code.

On Thursday, Sept. 25, HonorCarolina Co-Chair Judith Wegner, Student Attorney General Jonathan Slain and others will hold a brown-bag lunch discussion about integrity at noon in the Johnston Center. In addition, William Cronon of the Carolina Environmental Program will discuss "Saving Nature in Time: The Past and the Future of Environmentalism" at 5 p.m. in the Tate-Turner-Kuralt Auditorium. Later, Honor Court officers will hold a mock Honor Court hearing at 7 p.m. in the Student Union.

Throughout the week faculty members will discuss ethics in their classes. Associate Professor Todd Taylor’s English students will screen their video documenting student leaders discussing honor, at Lenoir Dining Hall, the Student Union and the Johnston Center, which also will display student submissions for the HonorCarolina logo contest.

Leading the HonorCarolina initiative as co-chairs were Wegner, also chair of the faculty and a law professor, and Dr. Randi Davenport, associate director of the Johnston Center. Student leaders who have been actively involved in planning activities include Marc Hennes, honor system outreach coordinator, and Jonathan Slain, student attorney general.

For details about HonorCarolina and scheduled activities, visit www.HonorCarolina.unc.edu or call Briana Brake, School of Law, 962-8516. The complete schedule for Honor and Integrity Week is at http://www.honorcarolina.unc.edu/events.html.

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Sources: Davenport, 843-7765, rdavenpo@email.unc.edu; Wegner, 962-4113 or 926-1671, Judith_wegner@unc.edu; Hennes, 966-4084, hennes@unc.edu; and Slain, 966-4084, slain@email.unc.edu.

College of Arts and Sciences contact: Dee Reid, 843-6339, dee_reid@unc.edu
News Services contact: Mike McFarland, 962-8593, mike_mcfarland@unc.ed