I received a call from Ms. Roe last week, the secretary to Mr. J.
Doe of the XYZ Corporation. (The story is true; the aliases are not.)
Ms. Roe said that her boss wanted a course in some area of professional
ethics. I described IIT's offerings in ethics, each addressing some
professional area such as engineering, business, or architecture.
Ms. Roe, however, did not think that her boss really wanted a semester
course that met three hours a week for sixteen weeks. She finally
explained that Mr. Doe had agreed to attend a course in professional
ethics as part of the settlement of a criminal case. He had to complete
the course before regaining his license to practice. He really wanted
something he could get out of the way in one day. A half-day seminar
would be ideal. Poor Ms. Roe had been calling local universities all
day, trying to find something convenient. Checking the bulletin board,
I found the announcement of a one day event at a nearby state university.
Ms. Roe was extremely thankful.