Clemson business students create honor oath

CLEMSON, SC – December 13, 2010 –  Clemson University MBA students have a duty beyond performing well in the classroom, according to a new oath they created.

The MBA students are challenging themselves to perform at a higher level both inside and outside the classroom. They plan to integrate the oath into the program from admission to graduation.

“The oath is similar to an honor code,” said MBA student Richard Kornacki of Greenville. “However, while an honor code limits itself to the school, the MBA oath is designed to challenge the students to better themselves not only in the program but in their lives outside of the classroom and after graduation.

“With a lot of the recent corruption in corporate America, we fear MBA schools are getting some of the blame for simply teaching profit is the goal,” Kornacki said. “We, as students and future leaders, are responsible for honorable and ethical skills as well as the entrepreneurial and business skills we learn in the classroom.”

Greg Pickett, interim associate dean for Clemson at the Falls in downtown Greenville, where the MBA program is housed, said the oath is just one example of how Clemson’s MBA students are taking the initiative to better themselves while bettering the world.

“More and more, our students believe in serving their community and doing good for others. They have made a commitment not only to seek a higher business education, but also to promote ethics and service as a mainstay within their professional lives long after they graduate,” Pickett said.

The language of the oath says students pledge to:

• accept responsibility as a business and community leader;
• act with honesty and integrity;
• enhance the character and reputation of themselves, their communities and their affiliations;
• honor and respect the differences of all people, and
• conduct business within an ethical framework and strive to create sustainable, global prosperity.

Clemson University

Clemson University offers full- and part-time MBA programs to accommodate a variety of students. Small classes allow optimal student-teacher interaction with learning facilitated through a variety of applied and traditional methods. The range of courses offered is intended to give students a firm grasp of broad-based business fundamentals as well as the opportunity to focus on areas of interest. Students can also earn a dual degree by combining their MBA with other graduate degrees offered at Clemson and through collaboration with the IESEG School of Management in France.