Nashville Standard

Seven students represented the Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics at the Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida, Feb. 16-17.  

The Belmont team, made up of students Tessa Chew, Anna Olivier, Katie Beth Raines, Morgan Brady, Colson Kelly, Kyleigh Jehlicka and Kennedy Brady, won first place in the national competition among several notable universities including the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Penn State and Georgetown University.  

Chew is a Music Business major who will graduate in May. “It is an honor to be part of the winning team for this competition,” she said. “This case gave me an opportunity to apply all that I’ve learned in college in a real-life situation. It transformed the knowledge I have attained into something tangible.” 

The competition invites undergraduate students from institutions across the nation to compete, giving them an opportunity to sharpen their analytical thinking, critical thinking and presentation skills as they develop an executive summary of their analysis of a specified case. 

“These students showcased impressive professionalism during practice sessions and their preparedness allowed them to not only compete — but win against notable competition,” Dean of the Massey College of Business Dr. Sarah Fisher Gardial said. “Winning at this level shows that Belmont students are honing valuable skills that will make them stand out among employee candidate pools and lead to success in the professional world.” 

This year’s case surrounded recent data detailing the increasing occurrences of workplace relationships. The Belmont team was required to research, develop, and present a Workplace Romance Policy to a hypothetical $3B corporation CEO. The development of the policy included analyzing the financial, legal, and ethical dimensions of the company while respecting employees’ confidentiality and privacy. 

In the weeks leading up to the competition, the Belmont team spent upwards of 85 hours preparing. Faculty from Massey College of Business, members of the Kennedy Center Advisory Board and team members from previous years supported the team by serving as practice judges. Belmont Business faculty Dr. Barry Padgett and Tony Saunders were co-advisors and Kennedy Center Director Boyd Smith served as the coach. 

“I could not be prouder of them as individuals and as a team,” Smith said. “They were fabulous ambassadors for Belmont on a high-profile stage.” 

This is the sixth year the Edward C. Kennedy Center for Business Ethics team has participated. Other notable universities in the competition included Emory University, University of Calgary, Florida State, University of Florida, University of Massachusetts-Amherst, Florida Gulf Coast University, Elon University and Campbell University, among others.

_{Colson Kelly, faculty coach Boyd Smith, Kyleigh Jehlicka, Kennedy Brady (back) along with Tessa Chew, Morgan Brady, Katie Beth Raines, and Anna Olivier (front) represented Belmont at the 2023 Templeton Business Ethics Case Competition at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida.} 

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