12th Annual Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at UCCS Case Competition

Eight southern Colorado colleges and universities competed on UCCS campus for the 12th annual Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at UCCS Case Competition on Saturday, Oct. 29, 2022. 43 students participated in the case analysis among two tracks: undergraduate two-year and undergraduate four-year schools. Participants were able to form teams of two or three students and each group had access to faculty advisors for counsel during the case development.

Students traveled from across southern Colorado to present their case recommendations to a panel of judges, made up of business professionals from Colorado Springs and around the U.S. Each presentation required stakeholder assessment, ethical reasoning and business decision-making skills.

The undergraduate two-and-four-year teams were tasked with resolving an incident with a global hotel chain experiencing crises relating to a cyber breach, allegations of human trafficking and inappropriate CEO behaviors. Student teams presented as a consulting group to the board of directors to offer an analysis of the most salient and critical issues and a detailed three-to-five-year action plan to address the issues for a long-term solution.

“The judges were very impressed with the recommendations presented by all of the teams,” said Tracy Gonzalez-Padron, director, Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at UCCS. “Each student demonstrated an understanding of principle-based ethics and decision-making in a complex situation – skills employers seek.”

2022 Case Competition Winners:

  • Undergraduate Two-Year Track
    • 1st Place
      • Pikes Peak State College: Marianna Jaques, Erica Goins, Savannah Harrington
        • Faculty Advisors: Carol Kurkowski & Monica Novack
    • 2nd Place
      • Pikes Peak State College: Daniell Johnson, Carlos Chalacan
        • Faculty Advisors: Monica Novack & Carol Kurkowski
    • 3rd Place
      • Odyssey Early College & Career Options: Bishop Owens, Aidan Smith, Benjamin Trumbly
        • Faculty Advisor: Keith Clayton
  • Undergraduate Four-Year Track
    • 1st Place
      • UCCS: Mark Aschmann, Hannah Bernard
        • Faculty Advisor: Scott VanNess
    • 2nd Place
      • Western Colorado University: Miah Shoffner, Deann Schaaf
        • Faculty Advisors: Jennifer DeBoer, Paula Mann & Michael Vieregge
    • 3rd Place Tie
      • Adams State University: Marco Facciotti, Diego Jones
        • Faculty Advisor: AJ Webb
      • UCCS: Ebisa Dundas, Robert Drone
        • Faculty Advisor: Terri Johnson

About the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program at UCCS College of Business

The Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program at UCCS College of Business is a resource for principle-based ethics education, serving students, educators and business community. The UCCS College of Business is one of eight original participating schools in the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative Collegiate Program that now includes eleven participating schools. The DFEI supports the Southern Colorado Education Consortium (SCEC) for eleven higher education institutions in the southern half of the state. In 2016, the DFEI Collegiate Program at UCCS launched an ethics champion pilot program to expand best practices in ethics education. Each participating school has educators serving as Ethics Champions on their campus to expand principle-based ethics education and resources throughout southern Colorado. The program has since expanded to include a large variety of events and programs for educators, students and business members throughout southern Colorado. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu/businessethics

About the College of Business

The UCCS College of Business was established in 1965 and has more than 1,300 undergraduates and 350 MBA and distance MBA students. The College of Business and Administration awards the Bachelor of Science in Business and Bachelor of Innovation degrees. The Graduate School of Business Administration awards the Master of Business Administration, Master of Science in Accounting and Executive Doctor of Business Administration degrees. More than 10,000 alumni of the College of Business live and work around the world. For more information, visit uccs.edu/business.

About the University of Colorado Colorado Springs

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs, located on Austin Bluffs Parkway in Colorado Springs, is one of the fastest growing universities in Colorado. The university offers 46 bachelor’s degrees, 22 master’s and five doctoral degrees. UCCS enrolls about 12,400 students annually and another 3,300 in online programs. For more information, visit www.uccs.edu.