The Upper Midwest Regional Ethics Bowl is one of 11 regional competitions where hundreds of students and teams from across the United States and Canada compete for a chance to be one of 36 teams to participate in the national Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl to be held in March 2018.
This year, Oakland University will be hosting the Upper Midwest Regional at South Foundation Hall on Saturday, Nov. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event is sponsored by the OU Center for Ethics. Judges for the event include college faculty members, ethics bowl alumni and local government officials.
For the Upper Midwest Regional, teams are typically from Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Wisconsin and there will be 26 teams competing from 18 schools this year.
“The Ethics Bowl addresses contemporary issues,” said Lisa Campbell special lecturer in Communication and Philosophy. “OU fields two teams of five students each and students must audition for a place on the team.”
The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl gives students a chance to enter an academic competition that combines excitement and fun with an educationally valuable experience in the areas of practical and professional ethics.
The competition focuses on a wide range of disciplines, including but not limited to, domestics and international business, engineering, journalism, law, medicine, and social work. Student teams demonstrate their ability to articulate the facts and ethical principles involved in the case and then present an effective argument on how the case should be resolved.
"Oakland University Ethics Bowl teams have been competing for about 15 years," added Campbell. "We have made the national competition four times, with the last coming in 2015."
The OU team is sponsored by the Department of Philosophy and coached by faculty members Mark Rigstad and Lisa Campbell.
The Association for Professional and Practical Ethics is the national sponsor for the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, now in its 22nd year of competition.
Oakland students interested in participating in future events can contact the Department of Philosophy as tryouts for next year’s team will begin in March 2018. Oakland offers the class Philosophy 3910 so that students may receive academic credit for their work with the team.