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Friday, February 20

Friday, February 20

Friday's events include:

  • MSU Leadership Panel
  • Ethics in the News Case Competition
  • Brews and Views: Plastics and Ethical Realities: Taking Responsibility for the Invisible

Read the following for event details and registration. More event details and registration links will be available soon.

MSU Leadership Panel

Time: 10–11 a.m.
Location: Multicultural Center – Room 1015

Join us for a Leadership panel where President Kevin Guskiewicz, Provost Laura Lee McIntyre, Executive Vice President for Administration Vennie Gore, Vice President and Chief Communications Officer Emily Guerrant, and Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning Innovation Marcio Oliveira discuss the impacts and outcomes of ethics and leadership on a university campus. This panel will be moderated by Teresa Mastin, Vice Provost and Associate Vice President for Faculty and Academic Staff Affairs, and will be an insightful look into the challenges leaders face in today’s climate. Register today to reserve your seat and join us on Friday, February 20th from 10am-11am!

Ethics in the News Case Competition

MSU’s Ethics Institute and The Center for Ethical and Socially Responsible Leadership will be hosting Ethics in the New Case Competition for undergraduate students on Friday, February 20th. Teams of 2, 3 or 4 students will compete to address all ethical and business implications for a current day ethical situation.  

Prize money will be awarded to the top three teams in the following amounts:

  • First Place: $1,200 total for the team
  • Second Place: $800 total for the team
  • Third Place: $500 total for the team
  • Fourth Place: $300 total for the team

Application Deadlines:

  • January 12: Registration OPENS
  • January 30: Registration closes 12 p.m.
  • January 30: Prompt shared 5pm
  • February 10: Presentations due 11:59 p.m. (NO EXTENSIONS WILL BE GRANTED)
  • February 12: Top 8 teams notified that they will compete on 2/20
  • Friday, February 20: 15 Minute Presentation with live judges from 1–5:15 p.m.

Brews and Views: Plastics & Ethical Realities: Taking Responsibility for the Invisible

Time: 5 p.m. 
Location: TBD 
Moderator: Angela Wilson 
Discussants: Lissy Goralnik and Yoorae Noh

A recent report in Nature Medicine estimated that microplastics have accumulated in the human brain in amounts roughly equivalent, by weight, to a plastic spoon. Materials engineered to be thrown away are now measurable in the most protected organ of the human body. This is not a metaphor—it is a consequence. Convenience has become an exposure; at what point do innovations in polymer chemistry become negligence? We will challenge assumptions that short-term utility justifies permanent presence; can we morally defended materials designed for minutes when their impacts persist for generations. We will confront the collision between economic value, technological progress, environmental integrity, public health, and intergenerational justice—interrogating not whether plastics have delivered benefits, but whether those promises excuse their lasting legacy.