Smith School of Business Launches Ethics Training For Executives

College Park, Md. - March 7, 2002 - The Robert H. Smith School of Business, University of Maryland, today announced the Smith Executive Ethics Certificate Program, a new executive education initiative aimed at helping organizations build and maintain a climate of ethical behavior. The four-day certificate program is designed for directors, officers, managers, partners, and other decision-makers. It offers a customizable curriculum, including such components as a visit inside a federal prison for a look at the lives of convicted white-collar criminals; discussions with thought leaders on ethical standards; and case studies of timeless critical moments in business leadership and decision-making situations.

"The program provides participants with especially valuable information so that they are better able to deal with the ethical and legal complexities of the business environment," said Stephen Loeb, co-director of the Smith Executive Ethics Certificate Program and professor of accounting at the Smith School. "Individuals attending the program will leave with a strong appreciation of the negative consequences that illegal or unethical acts can have on their employers as well as themselves," said Loeb.

Loeb, a respected scholar of business and accounting ethics, developed the similar and highly successful ethics program required of all Smith full-time MBA students. Loeb will direct the Smith executive ethics program along with William Shepherd, a Washington, D.C. attorney and Smith Executive Education Fellow. As a former special prosecutor in Miami, Fla., Shepherd has extensive experience prosecuting corporate crime, fraud, international smuggling, and violent street crime.

"As an organization dedicated to maintaining the highest ethical standards, we're very excited about the development opportunity the Smith School's ethics program presents for our current and future leaders," said Mike Grabarek, director of leadership development for Entergy Corporation, a major global energy company. "We're especially impressed with the way this ethics program integrates academic principles with a number of innovative, high-impact elements, such as face-to-face interviews with former executives now serving prison sentences for white-collar crimes."

In addition to receiving instruction by legal, insurance, and/or fraud experts; organizations participating in the Ethics Certificate Program are offered such customized options as industry and regulatory standards training; corporate crime and government enforcement role-playing; crisis communications coaching; social responsibility guidance; and the federal prison visit, which aims to help executives better understand the implications of illegal business practices.

"By increasing awareness about criminal liability, we can help corporations cut down on the potentially devastating costs of improper or illegal activities," said Dr. Scott Koerwer, associate dean and director of the Center for Executive Education at the Smith School. "In addition, the certification status offered through this program provides participating organizations with evidence of their commitment to fostering ethical business practices."

About Smith Executive Education
Smith Executive Education designs and delivers both customized and open enrollment programs to enhance the capabilities of high-potential professionals and to help organizations apply new business practices. All Smith Executive Education programs are grounded in the expertise of the world-class faculty of the Robert H. Smith School of Business, a top-ranked management leader in the digital economy. More information about Smith Executive Education can be found at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu/execed.

About the Robert H. Smith School of Business
The Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland is an internationally recognized leader in management education and research for the digital economy. The school offers cross-functional study options in its six academic departments, which include accounting and information assurance; decision and information technologies; finance; logistics, business, and public policy; management and organization; and marketing. More information about the Robert H. Smith School of Business can be found at http://www.rhsmith.umd.edu.

# # #

For more information: Jeff Heebner Robert H. Smith School of Business University of Maryland ( 301.405.9469 jheebner@rhsmith.umd.edu