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Leading Life with Honor, Character & Integrity

Ethics Symposium

What does it mean to be ethical? Ethical dilemmas and challenges that impact our personal and professional lives are encountered every day, particularly in the workplace. Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. of the 6th District U.S. House of Representatives discussed with Ranney students the ethical dilemmas that many politicians face on a daily basis, and how this decision-making can apply to many other situations.

Congressman Pallone was one of many guest speakers who visited Ranney to speak of ethics as it applies to the working world. Beginning Thursday, February 3, Ranney’s Upper School launched its inaugural Ethics Symposium. Inspired by the 2010 Fall Convocation keynote speaker, Dr. Bruce Weinstein, also known as “The Ethics Guy,” the seven-week symposium was offered strictly to members of the Ranney School Class of 2012.

During the annual “Leadership and Ethics” Fall Convocation this past October, Dr. Weinstein provided members of the Ranney community with several principles to being an ethical citizen: do no harm; make things better; respect others; be fair; and love each other. He also discussed ways in which to foster dialogue about ethics and morality between students and faculty members and touched on the impact of ethics on one’s life.

Head of School Dr. Lawrence Sykoff, along with teachers and administrators Myra Simpson, Joseph Tweed and Robert Bowman, Ph.D. from the Upper School leadership team used the above topics to create a program that would teach juniors the value of ethics within an academic framework. Students were asked to follow a course syllabus, complete weekly assignments and submit a cumulative written assessment at the conclusion of the program. What resulted was a symposium with the following goals and objectives:

• Provide juniors with a historical perspective of ethics and an overview of ethical theory;
• educate students on the process of ethical decision making;
• engage in classroom discussions, participate in collaborative, interactive online learning environments (“Panther Ethics” website) with faculty members and peers about ethical dilemmas, and learn methods of applying ethical principles to everyday life;
• and provide opportunities for students to learn about the practical application of ethics and ethical dilemmas in professional occupations by hearing from distinguished speakers in the following fields: arts, athletics, business, education, law, medicine and politics.


Beginning February 3rd and ending March 31st, the junior class was asked to participate in sessions built around various ethical topics and case studies presented by guest speakers like Frank Pallone, Dr. Karen Rezach, Marie Curry, Dr. Brian Torpey, The Honorable Ann McCormack and James Price.

On March 23, 2011, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. gave Ranney students a talk on ethics in politics. Now serving his 11th term in the U.S. House of Representatives, Mr. Pallone is a senior member on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, covering issues pertaining to energy, environment, health care, commerce and telecommunications. He also chairs the Committee’s powerful Subcommittee on Health, which oversees biomedical programs, food and drug safety, mental health and research, hospital construction and more.

While addressing the audience, Mr. Pallone reinforced the notion that ethics creates dialogue and makes people think. To that end, he asked students proactive questions such as: What do you believe and how do you vote? What type of reparations and peace offerings can a country really offer to people it has wronged in the past? If you were against the war, would you still volunteer? Afterwards, the platform was opened to the audience for further discussion. Craig Slater ’12 wondered, “In what type of situation would you say that ethical boundaries are blurred?” and Walter Cuje ’12 asked, “How does one deal with campaign contributions and receiving money from constituents?”

During her presentation, Director of the Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, Dr. Karen Rezach, discussed the history of ethics and ethical philosophy. After comparing moral dilemma to ethical dilemma, Dr. Rezach also presented students with an ethics in education scenario on lying and plagiarism and took questions from the audience. “I truly enjoyed interacting with [the] students and teachers,” said Dr. Rezach.

Speaker James Price presented on Business and the Global Economy, explaining ethics in the workplace. The Ranney Board of Trustees member, Chief Operating Officer to 1-800 DOCTORS and Managing Partner at the Sawtooth Group explained that today’s employee selection process is far different from what it had been just 20 years ago — complete with frequent meetings and character-based interviews. Mr. Price reminded students that no matter how pressured they may be by their peers, what matters at the end of the day “is that you do the right thing because that is what people remember you for.”

The symposium also featured an Honors and Ethics “Teach-in” on Friday, March 25 in RSPA Panther Hall. Led by Head of Upper School Paul Zanowski, students first viewed a film about the corruption of 1950’s quiz shows. Afterwards, the Oscar-winning film “Quiz Show,” directed by Robert Redford engaged students in dialogue on the vital and timeless topic of honor and ethics.

Final guest speakers, Kate Greenberg and Dr. Marilyn McNeil, spoke of ethics in arts and athletics on Thursday, March 31 in the Distance Learning Center. While during her presentation, Chair of the Ranney School Fine Arts Department Kate Greenberg discussed copyright infringement, forgeries and antiquities, NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Chair and Monmouth University Director of Athletics Dr. Marilyn McNeil talked about NCAA Bylaws, high profile coaches being removed for violating NCAA rules and student-athlete behavior.

An extremely enlightening conference altogether, the Ethics Symposium truly depicts Ranney’s core mission and philosophy — to lead one’s life with honor, character and integrity.
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Ranney School

235 Hope Road
Tinton Falls, NJ 07724
Tel. 732.542.4777
Our mission is to know and value every child, nurturing intellectual curiosity and confidence, and inspiring students to lead honorably, think creatively, and contribute meaningfully to society. 

We envision Ranney School as a nurturing learning community, in which families, faculty, alumni, and all of Ranney’s constituents collaborate to know and value every child, foster individual talents, sustain powerful connections between children and adults, and graduate resilient, globally-minded citizens.