Ethics in the Workplace

Ethics Awareness Week

Ethics Awareness Week is sponsored by the USG each year to reinforce our collected commitment to an ethical culture and our shared values and expectations. 

Georgia College & State University, along with the other 25 USG institutions and the University System Office, host activities to raise awareness of the importance of an ethical culture and our shared Core Values of Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect.

Activities for the week of November 4-10, 2024 are listed below and are featured in the Ethics Awareness Week Kickoff Video

All Week –

  • Campus-wide shredding event to encourage faculty and staff to purge items according to the USG Records Retention Schedule. Secure bins will be available around campus to receive items.  Contact your department's Record Retention Liaison for more information:
    • Academic Affairs:  Rhonda Griffin

    • Athletics:  Cathy Stevens

    • College of Arts & Sciences:  Jamie Jones

    • College of Business:  Deannie Waddell

    • College of Education:  Shanquita Lewis

    • College of Health Sciences:  Julie Collis

    • Enrollment Management:  Kay Anderson

    • Facilities Management:  Alisha Overman

    • Finance and Admin:  Susan Demmon

    • Honors College:  Brian Newsome

    • Human Resources:  Sherry Brown

    • Information Technology:  Katie Lipscomb

    • Legal Affairs:  Mary Sanders

    • Library:  Holly Croft

    • Office of the President:  Monica Starley

    • Public Safety:  Dana Meeks

    • Student Health & Wellbeing:  Sissy Graham

    • Student Life:  Sarah Whatley

    • University Advancement:  Joi Thomas

  • Staff responsible for GCSU’s audit, legal, compliance, and ethics will be featured on Front Page daily, including references to key policies and relevant training.
    • Rhonda Fowler, Chief Audit Officer
    • Michael Baker, Clery and Compliance Officer
    • Mary Sanders, Legal Affairs Manager
    • Jackie Watts, Title IX Coordinator
    • Stephanie Westmoreland, Programs Serving Minors Coordinator

Monday, November 4, 2024

  • USG presents Ethics in Higher Education: Beyond Compliance – 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. (Watch Live via Teams)

 Tuesday, November 5, 2024

  • American Red Cross Blood Drive – 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.- Donahoo Lounge (Donors needed

Wednesday, November 6, 2024

  • American Red Cross Blood Drive – 11:00 a.m.- 5:00 p.m.- Donahoo Lounge (Donors needed
  • Times Talk- 12:00 p.m.-12:50 p.m.-Russell Library Room 241 featuring Stephen Palmer on recognizing journalists’ deceptive tactics.

Friday, November 8, 2024 

  • USG presents Ethics & Compliance Panel Discussion “Integrity Intelligence” in Times of Change – 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Register for Zoom Presentation)

workplace ethics

Employees are responsible for upholding the highest standards of ethical behavior.  This means doing the right thing even when the wrong thing might also have some attraction.  Workplace ethics are most often related to decision-making processes.  Most leaders face opportunities to choose between alternative courses of action in their work situations and other aspects of their lives. Work-place ethics refer to selecting the option that is the moral or legal “right” choice, even if the other alternative(s) are attractive and even if you can “get away with” the less ethical choice. 

Creating an Ethical Culture

Everyone in the GCSU community is responsible for creating an ethical culture.  Students are responsible for upholding the GCSU Honor Code and acting ethically inside and outside the classroom.  Faculty and Staff must learn and follow the GCSU and BOR ethics policies and perform their jobs to the highest ethical standards.   View Board of Regents Ethics Policy

core values

Every member of the USG community must adhere to the USG Statement of Core Values – Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect – that form and guide our daily work.

  • Integrity – We will be honest, fair, impartial, and unbiased in our dealings both with and on behalf of the USG.
  • Excellence – We will perform our duties to foster a culture of excellence and high quality in everything we do.
  • Accountability – We firmly believe that education in the form of scholarship, research, teaching, service, and developing others is a public trust. We will live up to this trust by safeguarding our resources and being good stewards of the human, intellectual, physical, and fiscal resources given to our care.
  • Respect – We recognize the inherent dignity and rights of every person, and we will do our utmost to fulfill our resulting responsibility to treat each person with fairness, compassion, and decency.

additional resources