 (left to right) Mrs. Mary Papoutsy; Dr. John C. Rouman, Co-Chair of the John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire; Mr. Ioannis Magriotis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic; Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster, keynote speaker; Dr. Richard Gustafson, President of Southern New Hampshire University; Mr. Christos Papoutsy; Ms. Stella Bezirtzoglou, representing the Diplomatic Cabinet of the Deputy Minister Greek Deputy Ioannis Magriotis Speaks at Inauguration of Chair in Business Ethics |
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Dr. Richard Gustafson, the president of the university, welcomed guests to the Hospitality Center for the inaugural activities. He outlined the events leading to the establishment of the first endowed chair at the institution and introduced guests to the first appointee to the chair, Professor Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger, and to its benefactors, Christos and Mary Papoutsy. Mr. Papoutsy, an alumnus and former trustee, holds an honorary doctorate from SNHU. A leading businessman and philanthropist, Mr. Papoutsy and his wife have received a number of awards for charitable, civic, and religious endeavors. Under his leadership, Hollis Automation, and later Cooper Electronics, grew to become a world leader in the electronics industry. Mr. Papoutsy discussed the reasons for creating an endowed chair in business ethics, stressing the timely and urgent need for interjecting values and ethics into educational curricula. However, the diversity of values worldwide poses a challenge. He asked, "Whose values ... [would] be used? Whose standards?' The mission of the new chair is to "teach and incorporate business ethics into all aspects of the university and business community by incorporating the lessons of current and Classical ethicists to 21st-century settings, drawing particularly upon the works of the Ancient Greeks that have shaped the history of Western civilization." Mrs. Papoutsy, a Classicist, has taught at the collegiate level, presented academic papers in both the U.S. and Europe, and been a member of professional organizations and councils. She addressed the novel pairing of business ethics and the Classics. She asserted that business students could benefit from these millennia-old teachings, just as well as students in many other disciplines. They, too, need the same core of fundamental knowledge from which they must draw to function well and competitively, from which they must draw to exert good judgement as leaders, business owners, and employees. The ethical dilemmas and resulting discussions generated by the works of such great intellectuals as Plato, Aristotle, and the Greek dramatists would figure prominently in the programs of the newly established Ethics Chair. Following her speech, Mrs. Papoutsy then introduced Mr. loannis Magriotis, the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Hellenic Republic. Invited by the chair benefactors and the university president to attend the inauguration, his presence had drawn the attention of American and Greek press, stirring a flurry of interviews. Together with her husband, Christos, the couple presented a token of their appreciation to His Excellency, Mr. Magriotis: a gilt-embossed, leather-bound edition of Homer's Odyssey in Modem Greek with accompanying illustrations by Greek artists. Amid the glare of television cameras and photographers' flashes, Mr. Magriotis addressed guests of the university. He extended his congratulations to the first appointee, Prof. Dunfey-Freiburger and expressed his support for the goals and mission of the Ethics program. With the advance of technology in today's world and the resulting globalization of many aspects of our lives, he stressed the importance that businesses conduct affairs responsibly and ethically. He hoped that the Ethics Chair would "do its part to form the conscience and character of those who ... [would] sail to the world with the new message that we are on this world not just to make profit but also to be human and to help." Guests listened to Professor Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger speak of the missions and goals of the new program. She is a well-respected member of the faculty at Southern New Hampshire University, having served in instructional and administrative posts there for 35 years. Professor Dunfey-Freiburger has co-authored two books, and has been co-chair of the Global Citizen's Circle, a nonprofit educational forum bringing together diverse groups of business, civic and student leaders to address local and global concerns. The keynote speaker, Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster, earned national prominence in the field of business ethics during his tenure at Harvard University. Since 1990, Dr. Goodpaster has held the Koch Endowed Chair in Business Ethics at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is also an active leader in the Caux Roundtable, an internationally known ethics foundation. Dr. Goodpaster discussed the principles for the foundation of dialogue and action by business leaders in search of business responsibility and affirmed the necessity for moral values in the business arena. |
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 (left to right, seated) Prof. Eleanor Dunfey-Freiburger, first appointee to the Christos and Mary Papoutsy Endowed Chair in Business Ethics at Southern New Hampshire University; Dr. John C. Rouman, co-chair of the John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire; Mrs. Mary Papoutsy; (standing) Dr. Richard Gustafson, president of Southern New Hampshire University; Mr. Ioannis Magriotis, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hellenic Republic; Mr. Christos Papoutsy; Mr. Richard Kimball, member of the Advisory Board for the Papoutsy Endowed Chair in Business Ethics; Dr. C. Douglas Marshall; member of the Advisory Board of the John C. Rouman Classical Lecture Series at the University of New Hampshire; Dr. Kenneth Goodpaster, keynote speaker; Mr. George P. Chatzimichelakis, Consul General of Greece in Boston |
