Blog Post

Pictured above (left to right): Dr. Abe Bakhsheshy, director and professor of the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the David Eccles School of Business; Terry Feveryear, executive director, Housing Authority of Salt Lake City; Jacob Brace, executive director, Neighborhood Home; Jeff Selander, CFO, Health Catalyst; Taylor Randall, Dean, David Eccles School of Business

By: Jennifer Robinson, PhD

Today I attended the Utah Ethical Leadership Awards Banquet, hosted by the Community Foundation of Utah, Daniels Fund and the Daniels Fund Ethics Initiative at the Eccles School of Business. The Utah Ethical Leadership Awards are designed to recognize Utah businesses, nonprofits, and government entities that embody the spirit of ethical leadership exhibited by Bill Daniels. Bill Daniels believed deeply in ethics and integrity, and in the importance of absolute ethical principles. As an exceptionally honest and fair businessman, he always based his decisions on what he believed was right – not what he thought was best for himself or his company.

The selection committee reviewed dozens of applications and selected the honorees based upon eight important criteria:

• Integrity – Act with honesty in all situations
• Trust – Build trust in all stakeholder relationships
• Accountability – Accept responsibility for all decisions
• Transparency – Maintain open and truthful communications
• Fairness – Engage in fair competition and create equitable and just relationships
• Respect – Honor the rights, freedoms, views and property of others
• Rule of Law – Comply with the spirit and intent of laws and regulations
• Viability – Create long-term value for all relevant stakeholders

The selection process was difficult and it is evident there are many business, nonprofits and government organizations that operate under these ethical principals in our state.

Award winners selected for this year’s honor are Health Catalyst, Neighborhood House, and the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City.  Health Catalyst, a company that uses analytics to help health care organizations improve their performance was selected for the business category.  Neighborhood House, which provides day care and support services to children and adults, won the nonprofit category.  In the government category, the Housing Authority of Salt Lake City was announced the winner. The other finalists were XMission, Mark Miller Subaru, Salt Lake Community Action Program, Project Read, Salt Lake County, and the Office of the Utah Attorney General.

It’s important that we recognize the individuals and organizations that espouse ethical principles in their daily operations. I offer my congratulations to these honorees and my thanks for being leaders in our community.

Dr. Jennifer Robinson is the associate director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute.