Author of The Cheating Culture to speak on campus

Author David Callahan, who has been called "a liberal with new emphasis on old values" by The New York Times, is the featured speaker of this year's Conference on Business Ethics to be held Monday, April 16, at 7 p.m. at Virginia Tech’s Burruss Auditorium. The conference, in its 17th year, is organized annually by the Business Leadership Center of the Department of Management in the Pamplin College of Business. The event is free and open to the public, and no tickets are needed.

Callahan’s talk, “The Cheating Culture: Why More Americans Are Doing Wrong to Get Ahead,” is based on his 2004 book of the same title. The talk will be followed by a question-and-answer session. He will meet faculty during an informal session earlier in the day to discuss how the topic may be incorporated in classroom teaching. As part of conference activities, Pamplin faculty members who teach ethics, business strategy, or business law will hold class discussions on various aspects of the topic.

Callahan has written extensively about American history, business, and public policy. His five previous books include Kindred Spirits: Harvard Business School’s Extraordinary Class of 1949 and How They Transformed American Business. His numerous articles have been published in such newspapers as The New York Times, Washington Post, and USA Today. He has been a frequent commentator on CNN, CBS, PBS, MSNBC, and Fox News, and a regular guest on radio talk shows across the United States. He lectures frequently at universities, associations, and businesses on issues of ethics and integrity.

Co-founder of Demos, a public policy center based in New York City, Callahan has also done public policy research and analysis as a Fellow at the Century Foundation. He received a bachelor’s degree from Hampshire College and a doctorate in politics from Princeton University. “I was never interested in the academic life,” he said in an interview a few years ago in The New York Times. "I always wanted to be involved in public debate.” In The Cheating Culture, Callahan explains why more Americans are cheating and prescribes solutions to the problem.

Virginia Tech’s nationally ranked Pamplin College of Business offers undergraduate and graduate programs in accounting and information systems, business information technology, economics, finance, hospitality and tourism management, management, and marketing. The college emphasizes the development of leadership skills and ethical values and the integration of technology in the academic curriculum, and prepares students for global business challenges through faculty-led study abroad programs. A member of the college’s marketing faculty directs the interdisciplinary Sloan Foundation Forest Industries Center at Virginia Tech. The college’s other research centers focus on business leadership, electronic commerce, and organizational performance. The college is committed to serving business and society through the expertise of its faculty, alumni, and students.