| Abstract: | How can community college presidents and boards of trustees safely manage the ethical dilemmas they face as they lead their institutions into the future and important resources continue to diminish? And what happens when a board member violates the board's code of conduct or the president either fails to consult a professional ethics code or ignores it? This article considers such a scenario. Recognizing that ethical dilemmas are complex and involve emotional responses, this article presents a nonlinear, multidimensional ethical decision-making model that can help presidents and boards maneuver through difficult situations in an ethical manner. This decision-making model consists of six steps to guide presidents and boards as they consider the most ethical course of action for their college and the community. These steps include (a) identifying the ethical dilemma; (b) gathering facts, self-monitoring, and consulting; (c) asking important questions; (d) creating alternate courses of action; (e) evaluating alternatives by the ethics code, law, and moral motivation; and (f) implementing a course of action by moral follow-through and virtue ethics. |
