Highlights, News and Events

Third Anderson Undergraduate Ethics Case Competition

On Friday, April 19, 2024, Anderson’s SCPT will be hosting its third Undergraduate Ethics Case Competition. Open to all undergraduate students at UNM, this event will provide students with the possibility of exploring and understanding the complexity of applying ethical principles to business scenarios.

Cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and third place teams, and lunch is included for all participants.

Registered teams will receive the competition case on April 8, 2024.

Access the registration form to include you and your team.

Please contact Hope Sanchez or Lucio Lanucara for more information. 


First Anderson Undergraduate Ethics Case Competition Section

On Friday, April 8, 2022, Anderson’s SCPT held its first Undergraduate Ethics Case Competition. This inaugural event was organized in partnership with Anderson’s New Mexico for Good program and the Center for Sales and Business Development. Anderson faculty Wellington Spetic, Andrea Hetrick, and Dimitri Kapelianis coauthored an original case for the competition. Five student teams took on the role of consultants and presented their recommendations to a panel of local business leaders – judges – who played the role of the Board of Directors.

1st Place Team
2nd Place Team
All Teams

We would like to congratulate all participants, including:

  • 1st Place Team & $2,000 Prize
    • Jenavia DeCore
    • Kadeem Ladoo
    • Yasmin Loya
    • Diego Ortega
  • 2nd Place Team & $1,000 Prize
    • Ben Lujan
    • Yashira Ortiz
    • Dasha Rajunas
    • Nayyer Rimi
  • Judges
    • Megan Bott, Marketing Associate & Community Outreach Coordinator, Positive Energy Solar;
    • Mark Santiago, Audit Manager, KMA;
    • Roger Gullickson, Experiential Marketing & Sage Creek Gallery
  • Faculty
    • Andrea Hetrick
    • Dimitri Kapelianis
    • Wellington Spetic
  • And all teams!

Dr. Vanessa HillTransfer of Training:  Business Ethics Instruction
November 12, 2021

Business Ethics courses aspire to expose students to the foundations of ethical reasoning. The aim of this exposure is to instill ethical reasoning that students will apply to their careers. Easier said than done. Dr. Vanessa D. Hill will share her observations on the barriers to transfer of training and contemplate what can be done to overcome these obstacles.

Anderson Students Participate in Ethical Leadership Certification Program

NASBA offers a special online Ethical Leadership Certification Program. Anderson is one of the largest supporters of the program and this year we registered well over 200 students for the challenging and informative program. Congratulations graduates!

SCPT Campus Being a Difference Award

Grace Cornelius and Dr. Shawn BermanThe UNM Anderson Student Center for the Public Trust recently awarded Interim Dean Shawn Berman and SCPT President Grace Cornelius with the Campus Being a Difference Award.

The NASBA Student Center for the Public Trust (SCPT) provides an interactive environment where ethical business behaviors and ideas can flourish on college campuses.

Each school year, the StudentCPT honors one student and one faculty member on each chapter’s campus who positively impact the school by displaying strong, ethical leadership.

Campus Being a Difference Award recipients do not simply aspire to make a difference – they are Being a Difference on their campus and other endeavors by embodying the very best in ethical behavior, integrity, and leadership.

Anderson Students Compete in NASBAs Annual Ethics in Action Video Competition

NASBAs Annual Ethics in Action Video Competition gives students and Chapters the opportunity to develop and submit videos supporting ethics in the workplace. We're proud to announce that this year, Anderson students were responsible for seven of the forty finalists in this competition. As an example of the quality of our presentations, we're posting to our site one of the two final entries submitted by Adilene Ruiz-Olivas.

Attached is one of the videos submitted to the Annual Ethics in Action Video Competition by our student Adilene Ruiz-Olivas. Great work Ady!

addy-ruiz.jpg Adilene “Ady” Ruiz-Olivas is a senior and studying Marketing at the University of New Mexico’s Anderson School of Management. She was first introduced to ethics in her Ethical, Political and Social course during her sophomore year of college. Since then, she has become fascinated by ethical issues in the business world and now takes any opportunity she can get to analyze and think critically about ethical dilemmas, whether it be inside or outside of the classroom. Ady is inspired by the external world and what she can do in her everyday life to create a better world for those around her and to become a role-model in her community. She plans to graduate in May of 2020 with her Bachelor’s degree.


Past Events

Dr. Harry Van Buren III's What I Saw at the Revolution: Principle-Based Ethics in Lebanon and its Relevance to Business in the USA

vanburen-scpt-2019.jpgOn March 12, Dr. Harry Van Buren returned from the American University of Beirut to speak at one of our Lunch & Learn events sponsored by the ASM Chapter of the Student Center for the Public Trust. He focused on the revolutionary turmoil in Lebanon and the related business ethics and how we can translate them to what's going on in the business world in the United States.

Over 60 students and faculty members were in attendance.

Guest Speaker: Sedrik Newbern on Ethical Leadership, November 5, 2019

newbern.pngSedrik Newbern is Operations Director for The Center for Public Trust, an Amazon best-selling author and a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Trainer and Speaker. When Sedrik shows up, relationships are recreated into workable, productive alliances that produce measurable results for individuals and businesses. Years of experience have taught Sedrik that personal and business difficulties always stem from relationships that are stuck, burdened and unworkable. Sedrik has an innate ability for identifying what isn't working and revealing it so that relationships can be recreated into something that is life-giving and empowering.

A recognized leader in sales and marketing, Sedrik has developed and conducted over 500 workshops on marketing strategies and sales processes for over 2,500 business owners and leaders over the last 25 years. He has also consulted with over 1,000 small business owners on marketing strategy, processes and measurement. His success as a small business owner and consultant has been driven by his ability to develop local value-added added advertising and sponsorships with integrated social media and public relations campaigns to create sales opportunities.

He serves on several non-profit boards and committees including serving as co-founder of The Precious Gift of Hope Foundation. For his leadership in business and in the community, Sedrik has been recognized as one of Lake County Illinois' Most Influential African Americans, received the Alumni Achievement Award from Western Kentucky University Gordon Ford School of Business and received the Entrepreneur of the Year Award and Civic Leadership Award from the Chamber of Commerce.

A native of Nashville, TN, Sedrik holds a BS in Marketing from Western Kentucky University and an MBA with a concentration in Economics from Tennessee State University. Sedrik's success as an entrepreneur and corporate leader, he attributes to the support and motivation he receives from his wife Denise and their son Matthew.

The talk is academic and covers the Daniels Fund Principles: Integrity, Trust, Accountability, Transparency, Fairness, Respect, Rule of Law, Viability.

Download the flyer for Ethical Leadership.

SCPT Students Community Involvement

On Friday, March 1st, 2019, fifteen students from Anderson's SCPT Chapter, along with Chapter Director John Reed, volunteered at New Mexico's Roadrunner Food Bank. This event was a great opportunity for the SCPT Anderson students to serve the community and know each other. 

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Lunch & Learn Event:  "Ethics in Marketing" with Anderson Professors Dr. Mary Margaret Rogers and Dr. Brian Gillespie, October 18, 2018

Dr. Brian Gillespie and Dr. Mary-Margaret Rogers led a great SCPT Speaker Series session on “Ethics in Marketing.” They covered both supply chain management and retailing, citing examples of both positive and negative ethical actions among both marketers and consumers. Their presentation was followed by a lot of questions and observations from the large group of students attending.

Ethics in Marketing - Dr. Rogers

Ethics in Marketing - Audience

Ethics in Marketing - Dr. Gillespie

SCPT Students Community Involvement

On Friday, April 27th, several students involved with the Anderson Student Center for the Public Trust, along with advising Professor John Reed, volunteered at the Road Runner Food Bank. The team, pictured below, included: Delia Mora, Nicole Sena, Lacey Ruminski, Waleed Sendy, Raheed Aldossari, Brandon Chee, Alexander Torivio, Karen Solis, and Joshua Jones. The team had a great time serving the community and getting to know their fellow Anderson students. 

SCPT Volunteers

Dr. Reilly White - SCPT Discussion: "Ethics in Finance", March 28, 2018

Dr. White

Dr. White spoke on “Ethics in Finance” to a group of over 50 students. He explained the challenges faced by students going into this area of business and gave examples of many of the situations they might face. He provided a brief history of negative and positive trends in the industry over the years, with a focus on the events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis and how things have changed since then. He also offered a personal example of a case where his grandmother was victim to a financial scam. He ended speaking about his career in banking and trends he sees in the future. The presentation was well-received with a number of student questions and observations during the Q&A session.

John Reed - SCPT  Discussion: "Ethics in Marketing", April 12, 2018

Mr. Reed

Mr. Reed spoke on “Ethics in Marketing” to a group of about 60 students. He took a “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly” approach to his presentation. Videos were used to highlight examples of marketing efforts and tactics in each of these categories. For “The Ugly” the focus was on pharmaceutical companies and their increasingly heavy advertising direct to consumers. While the US has 4.5% of the world’s population, we consume 41% of prescription medication. Examples were shown of marketing efforts leading to this. For “The Bad”, students reviewed ‘Top 10 Marketing Scams’ focusing on a range of industries and companies that preyed on consumer gullibility. For “The Good”, examples were shown of responsible and ethical marketing efforts. Included were campaigns from Dove and Always and video describing the ethics shown by Johnson & Johnson during the 1982 recall of Tylenol.

Dr. Manuel Montoya - SCPT Discussion: "Ethics in International Business", April 17, 2018

Dr. Montoya Dr. Montoya has led a discussion on the role that global identities play in the creation of new ethical problems in the global economy.  He touched on the logic of being “planetary” and how that has created contemporary issues about human responsibility.  As blockchain, 3D printing, and virtual/non-state communities evolve, how does the signature of the planet change the way we think about ethically engaged business in the 21st century?


Dr. Kelly Pope, November 6, 2017

Dr. Kelly PopeOn Monday, November 6, the Anderson Chapter of the Student Center for the Public Trust (SCPT) was proud to welcome Dr. Kelly Pope  Richmond of De Paul University in Chicago (above left). Dr. Richmond was returning to our campus to present the final version of her documentary “All the Queen’s Horses” (above right). This special project was funded by the Daniels Fund, of which UNM is a consortium member.

2017-queenshorsesThe documentary traces the incredible tale of Rita Crundwell who, as comptroller of the small town of Dixon, Illinois, embezzled the staggering sum of $53 million from the town’s coffers over a 20 year period before being caught. She used the money to fund a lavish lifestyle, including building a stable of world champion quarter horses.

Dr. Richmond explained how the fraud happened, how it remained  undetected for so long and how it impacted the town and its people. It’s both a cautionary tale of how we, as citizens, need to be engaged in what goes on around us and a lesson in how easy this type of manipulation is and how widespread it might be.

Two years ago, Dr. Richmond presented a ‘rough-cut’ of the documentary. She returned to showcase the award-winning finished film. Approximately 25 students joined us for her introduction, viewing the 70 minute documentary and a robust question and answer session at its conclusion.

Habitat for Humanity, April 29, 2017

The Anderson Chapter of the Student Center for the Public Trust performed its annual Community Service Activity at Habitat for Humanity in Albuquerque. Our team worked in the local thrift store, helping to clean and organize. Pictures are Co-Director John Reed, his wife Debbie and SCPT Officer and team leader Shani Harvie.

Habitat for Humanity

A Talk with Amelia Ceja, April 17, 2017

Amelia Ceja

Amelia Ceja brought her inspirational message to the University of New Mexico on Monday, April 17 as a guest of the Student Center for the Public Trust (SCPT). She impressed on the audience of more than 100 Anderson School students and community members that, “You can do anything. The only one holding you back - is you.”

Amelia talked about her journey to the United States from Jalisco, Mexico and how she decided at the age of 12, while working alongside her father picking grapes in Napa Valley, that one-day she would have her own vineyard.

Amelia detailed the challenges and the successes that lead to the founding of Ceja Vineyards in 1999, and shared a video from NBC News chronicling her life story. Today, Ceja is an ultra-premium winery and one of the few Latino owned wineries in California’s Napa and Sonoma Valleys. Amelia is the first Mexican American woman ever elected President of a winery and, based on her young life, she is adamant about sustainable farming to protect the farmworkers, who she says are an extension of her family.

Amelia pressed the audience to “think outside of the box”, sharing her decision to market to “people of color”, even after her mentor told her it would never work. “Nobody in the wine industry ever really thought about the Latino community when it came to marketing,” said Amelia. “They see Mexican food and they only think of beer and margaritas. They never imagined pairing Mexican cuisine with wine.”

Because of the efforts of Ceja Vineyards, the wine industry as a whole is now reimaging its long-time marketing strategy. Amelia’s love of cooking family dishes, and sharing with others, allows her to prove that the pairing of wine and Mexican cuisine is indeed a recipe for success. She has presented at the Smithsonian Museum and is thrilled that two of her recipes are included in a soon-to- be released cookbook featuring 100 of the top chefs in America.

Amelia says she is a proud first-generation American citizen who used her status as an immigrant, a Latina and a woman to her advantage in developing her business. She wrapped up her presentation by urging the audience members to “never give up on their dreams.” Amelia says, “With education and hard work you can make anything happen.”

2017 Ethics in Action Video Competition

Have your students participate for a chance to win up to $4,000 in cash prizes. In 2016, 30+ different schools across the country used this as an extra credit assignment or incorporated this into their Spring syllabus.

  • Check out our 10 minute webinar about the competition:  

A Talk with Alfonzo Alexander, January 24, 2017

On Tuesday, January 24, 2017, the Anderson Chapter of the Student Center for the Public Trust was pleased to host Mr. Alfonzo Alexander, President of the NASBA Center for the Public Trust and their Chief Relationship Officer. Mr. Alexander spoke to a large group of students on the importance of ethics in the workplace and the challenges they’ll face as the enter the corporate world.

He began by pointing out that NASBA research showed that 83% of all students reported encountering an ethical dilemma during their first 5 years in the workforce. He explained that, in most cases, they were unprepared to deal with it. And that, often, they didn’t realize it was an ethical concern until later on. He also talked about how many business people don’t know whom to turn to when an event like this occurs. He gave examples from his own early business career and people he’s known who encountered problems in the workplace that they were forced to deal with.

He explained the importance of not limiting your options, but in exploring all possibilities for dealing with these issues. Of chief importance is knowing where to turn in an organization to seek help and clarification. He also stressed the importance of having mentors and how to build a network with mentoring relationships.

Mr. Alexander’s presentation was very well received and resulted in a large number of students spending time with him afterwards to discuss their personal situations and solicit his advice. We hope to have him back next year.