[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkners-harris-college-of-business-shapes-ethical-leaders-for-todays-marketplace\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkners-harris-college-of-business-shapes-ethical-leaders-for-todays-marketplace\/","headline":"Faulkner\u2019s Harris College of Business Shapes Ethical Leaders for Today\u2019s Marketplace","name":"Faulkner\u2019s Harris College of Business Shapes Ethical Leaders for Today\u2019s Marketplace","description":"Al Crosby speaks at the 2025 Ethics Institute. In a world where stories of corporate corruption dominate headlines, the need for ethical leaders has never been greater. Faulkner University\u2019s\u00a0Harris College of Business and the\u00a0Khadanga\u00a0School of Executive Education\u00a0is taking a proactive…","datePublished":"2026-05-22","dateModified":"2026-05-22","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/#Person","name":"Rebecca Burylo","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/author\/rburylo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/37a0c97fbd1eda89e38697defcaf0573?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Faulkner University","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Official-Horizontal-480x128.png","width":480,"height":128}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Al_04-1-scaled.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/Al_04-1-scaled.jpg","height":1451,"width":2560},"url":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkners-harris-college-of-business-shapes-ethical-leaders-for-todays-marketplace\/","about":["Alumni","Business","News"],"wordCount":678,"articleBody":"Al Crosby speaks at the 2025 Ethics Institute. In a world where stories of corporate corruption dominate headlines, the need for ethical leaders has never been greater. Faulkner University\u2019s\u00a0Harris College of Business and the\u00a0Khadanga\u00a0School of Executive Education\u00a0is taking a proactive role in addressing this challenge through its Ethics Institute, which blends biblical principles with contemporary research in ethics.\u00a0\u201cWith Colossians 3:23 as the foundation, we encourage our students to be men and women of high moral character and integrity,\u201d said Harris College of Business Dean Justin Bond. The verse reads, \u201cWhatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.\u201d The mission is clear: prepare graduates who can stand firm in their convictions, make principled decisions, and serve as ethical leaders in today\u2019s business landscape. The Ethics Institute equips students with practical tools for ethical decision-making, guided by the ultimate model for moral and ethical behavior\u2014Jesus Christ. Learning from Real-World Role Models One of the most impactful aspects of the Ethics Institute is its speaker series, which brings in distinguished business leaders to share their experiences, leadership philosophies, and the ethical challenges they have faced. Past speakers have included: Dr. Rick Lytle, president and CEO of the CEO Forum\u00a0(Fall 2021)\u00a0Mitch Henry, Faulkner\u00a0University\u2019s\u00a0ninth president (Spring 2022)\u00a0Mike Eubanks, vice\u00a0chairman\u00a0of Faulkner\u2019s Board of Trustees and vice president of Gulf Hauling and Construction (Fall 2022)\u00a0John Gordon, Faulkner\u00a0alumnus\u00a0and financial adviser with Edward Jones (Fall 2022)\u00a0Tom Pendley, president and CEO of Mannington Mills (Spring 2023)\u00a0Paul Evans, partner with CRI Advisers, LLC, and CRI M&A Advisors, LLC (Fall 2023)\u00a0Bill Trick, CEO of IMS Communities (Spring 2024)\u00a0Jason Isbell, Faulkner\u00a0alumnus, board member, and vice president of state government affairs at Regions Bank (Fall 2024)\u00a0Anne\u00a0Ostholthoff, vice president of corporate social responsibility at AssuranceAmerica, andEric Martinez, associate general counsel at AssuranceAmerica (Spring 2025)Al Crosby, president at Crosby Electric (Fall 2025)Fall 2024 speaker, Jason Isbell, who has served as the senior\u00a0vice\u00a0president of\u00a0state\u00a0government\u00a0affairs and\u00a0economic\u00a0development at Regions Bank\u00a0for the last five years,\u00a0said\u00a0the Ethics Institute is an essential and unique\u00a0component\u00a0of a business major\u2019s education.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cAny business school can offer classes on accounting, marketing, and management, but the Ethics Institute is one of the things that sets Harris College of Business apart from all the rest,\u201d Isbell said. \u201cLearning the \u2018nuts and bolts\u2019 of the business world is important, yet today\u2019s job creators crave trustworthy employees who will represent themselves with integrity and character. That type of learning is woven into Faulkner\u2019s mission, and in my opinion, our business school alums are more marketable in the workplace because of the Ethics Institute.\u201d Since graduating from Faulkner in 2002, Isbell\u2019s professional career has revolved around politics, banking and legal fields that do not always have the best reputation when it comes to ethics and integrity, he said.  \u201cI\u2019ve\u00a0worked diligently to try and\u00a0maintain\u00a0a reputation as an honest broker and have worked long enough to know that\u00a0\u2018The Golden Rule\u2019\u00a0is the best way to\u00a0operate. Even when\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0fallen short, keeping that goal front-and-center has been my professional standard, and it has served me well,\u201d Isbell said.\u00a0\u00a0Ethical instruction at Faulkner is not limited to\u00a0special events. Business ethics is integrated into the curriculum across disciplines, including accounting, finance, management, marketing, risk management, and information systems.\u00a0Students explore real-world scenarios through lectures, videos, and case analyses, giving them the chance to practice applying ethical principles to industry-specific challenges.\u00a0Isbell encouraged business students as they prepare to graduate. \u201cYou can\u2019t reach the top of the ladder without stepping up on the bottom rung,\u201d he said. \u201cBusiness majors entering the workforce must have the humility to do hard work, the patience to do it as long as it takes and the character to do it well.\u201d\u00a0Dr. Rick LytleMike EubanksEric Martinez"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"News","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Faulkner\u2019s Harris College of Business Shapes Ethical Leaders for Today\u2019s Marketplace","item":"https:\/\/www.faulkner.edu\/news\/faulkners-harris-college-of-business-shapes-ethical-leaders-for-todays-marketplace\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]