News

As more and more people become aware of environmental issues and phrases such as "carbon footprint," a question looming ever larger in the business world is the topic for the Martin Methodist College’s sixth annual Business Ethics Symposium: "Can Sustainability Be Profitable?"

The symposium will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Martin Hall Auditorium, featuring a three-person panel of experts in the field. The evening symposium will be preceded by a special edition of the college’s Big Picture discussion series, set for 9:30 a.m. that day in Martin Hall Auditorium, which will focus on Martin Methodist’s own sustainability initiatives.

"The ‘sustainability’ theme is timely for the college as we plan for continued improvement in our green position," said Martin Methodist College President Ted Brown. "The Martin 2020 long-range plan, which is still under development, will have a major sustainability element. Martin Methodist installed the first geo-thermal HVAC system in south central Tennessee back in 2009. We now have a second geo-thermal system and want to continue this pattern of decreasing the college’s carbon footprint.After all, as the title of our symposium implies, these efficiencies have budget impact and help us to keep the cost of tuition affordable for our students."

Taking part in the symposium panel will be:

· Dr. Kim Davenport, Ph. D., a senior human resources executive with extensive expertise in talent management and acquisition and organizational development, has worked for three best practice Fortune 500 companies ranging in size, industry and global footprint. An author and lecturer on corporate social responsibility and business ethics, she is a member of the adjunct faculty of Vanderbilt University. Her doctoral dissertation, "Corporate Citizenship: A Stakeholder Approach for Defining Corporate Social Performance and Identifying Measures for Assessing It," was selected as a top three finalist for the Best Dissertation Award in 1999 by the Academy of Management, Social Issues in Management Division.

· Justin Southwick is project manager for Wilmot, Inc., a sustainability consultant firm based in Nashville that leads resource efficiency projects for institutions, governments, and private industry throughout the US for the last 17 years. Before joining Wilmot, he spent several years leading projects at General Electric, where he earned Six Sigma certification. After leaving to run a real estate development firm, he learned first-hand both the challenges and necessity of running a sustainable business. Today, he divides his time among project leadership, research and development efforts.

· G. Dodd Galbreath, executive director and assistant professor of the Lipscomb University Institute for Sustainable Practice (ISP), is founding director of one of the nation’s first academic sustainability programs, bringing more than 28 years of experience to ISP. He led efforts to implement a nationally recognized wetlands conservation plan, created one of the nation’s first environmental justice plans, and guided passage of five legislative proposals to manage competing water allocations and transfers and designation of the first state scenic river in the past 25 years.

For more information about the Business Ethics Symposium, contact Gail Newton, associate professor of business, at 931-363-9854.