Heavener student receives ethics award
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Abigail Fielding was named the 2017-2018 recipient of the Virginia Maurer Business Ethics Student of the Year. She is the second recipient of this prestigious award.
The Virginia Maurer Business Ethics Student of the Year award honors students in the Warrington College of Business who have demonstrated a commitment to the role of ethics in business, as evidenced through academic excellence, leadership, personal integrity and civic engagement.
“Being selected for this award is among one of the greatest honors I have ever received,” Fielding said. “Understanding the importance of ethics in our everyday decisions is critical for success in any career. We see companies in the news all the time being scrutinized for decisions they have made.
“As a Business Ethics Ambassador, I was fortunate to talk to hundreds of students and offer examples of unethical decisions. Teaching them how to make better decisions when faced with ethical dilemmas during their undergraduate years has been very rewarding. My involvement in ethics-related organizations and with the Poe Center has taught me incredible lessons that will prove extremely valuable as I begin my career after graduation.”
Fielding (BSBA-Finance ’18) has served as a Peer Leader for Warrington Welcome, a Business Ethics Ambassador, the Director for the Warrington Welcome Business Ethics Case Competition, a Facilitator, Mentor, and Participant for the Heavener Leadership Challenge, a University Scholar, a BUMP Mentor, a Career and Academic Peer Mentor, and a Career Coach.
During her time as a University Scholar, Fielding conducted research alongside a faculty member on ethics in the financial industry. Her research paper was selected for a presentation at the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics in Dallas, Texas in February 2017 and was recently selected to be published in the University of Florida’s Journal for Undergraduate Research.
“Abby is a tremendous student in every respect,” said Dr. Brian Ray, Director of the Poe Business Ethics Center and Lecturer of Leadership and Ethics. “The scope of her influence on ethics education at the University of Florida is without comparison. Beginning with the many ways she improved the Warrington Welcome Ethics Case Competition for first-year students and concluding with her ethics research that is being published this month in UF’s Journal of Undergraduate Research, Abby has displayed a unique combination of passion and intellectual talent. What a wonderful testimony for someone receiving the Virginia Maurer Business Ethics Student of the Year award!”
As a Business Ethics Ambassador, Fielding was involved in interviewing nominees for Gainesville Rotary Club’s Business Ethics Award, organizing events to educate students across the university about the importance of ethics in business, and more. She was also the Director for the Warrington Welcome Business Ethics Case Competition, an initiative for first year students which provided an opportunity for them to work in teams to develop a comprehensive solution to a business problem and present their solution to their classmates. Fielding has always placed an emphasis on ethics through her extracurricular and academic experiences.
Virginia Maurer is the founding director of the Poe Business Ethics Center and served as a Professor of Business Law and Legal Studies. With over 35 years of distinguished research and teaching at the University of Florida, Professor Maurer also served as a visiting faculty member at some of the most prestigious institutions in the world such as Cambridge University, the Helsinki School of Economics and Business, the University of Michigan, and the Institute for Advanced Legal Studies at the University of London.
