CSEP/ComEd Discussion Forum

On March 2, a novel question and answer ethics forum was held in Galvin Library with twenty invited IIT students and ComEd engineering directors Timothy Bulthaup, Ken Cicirale, Bill Fluhler and Marketing Director Jennifer Montague. Arranged by Vivian Weil, director of IIT’'s Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions and Michelle Blaise, engineering director for reliability at ComEd, the forum participants delved into issues of engineering and business ethics.

The forum participants started with questions about the Toyota safety recall and how this related to questions of safety versus profit, and considered along the way how engineers can use a job interview to assess the ethical climate of a company and how newly hired engineers can get a place at the table in decision making to deal with problems. The panelists ended with discussion of how companies become proactive regarding ethical issues and technology development.

We plan on organizing future discussion forums between ComEd engineers and IIT students in the near future. Please check back for the next forum date!