Faculty
Teaching Resources
Visit our Teaching Resources page to view information about academic integrity, responsibly integrating generative AI into your courses, as well as relevant college and university policies that support academic success in the fullest sense.
Our Honor Code
Smeal’s honor code creates a framework for being accountable to ourselves and to one another, as we aspire to meet ethical standards. A testament to our values-driven culture, it helps to define who we strive to be as a community, and it calls on those who wish to be a part of our community to recognize and abide by ethical standards.
Our honor code is not an article of compliance, and this impacts how we hold each other accountable. While an individual can be coerced into compliance, we cannot force someone to be ethical. Nonetheless, ethical behavior can be encouraged. We can help individuals recognize that some behaviors create value in our lives, while others are destructive. We can teach ethical decision-making frameworks and impart the technical knowledge required to effectively act on our values. We can model ethical behavior and create environments that positively influence the behaviors of others. We can hold each other accountable in the simplest way by voicing our values, by not ignoring wrong-doing, and by celebrating the many positive acts we witness within our community on a daily basis.
When we encourage members of the Smeal community to sign our honor code, we are encouraging individuals to signal their belief that it is, indeed, worthwhile. By signing, individuals assert their desire to support Smeal’s commitments not only to continuously develop an ethical culture within our college, but to actively encourage the continuous development of ethical leaders who do and will have significant impact on many lives.
Getting Involved
Faculty play a critical role in our efforts to continuously develop our culture of Honor and Integrity, both inside and outside of the classroom. Visit our Teaching Resources page to learn more about what you can do to set expectations, influence behaviors, and reinforce accountability. Outside of the classroom, faculty are invited to support co-curricular activities such as our Smeal Ethical Leadership Program, 1st year Honor & Integrity Case Competition, or Smeal Integrity Advocates program. Faculty are also invited to participate in unique “Giving Voice to Values at Smeal” programs, which is a series of workshops designed to enhance skills related to effectively and pragmatically addressing issues before they escalate and cause harm to stakeholders. Contact the Director of Honor and Integrity to learn more, and watch for specific invitations to advocate for our culture of honor and integrity via email throughout the academic year.
PAWS-itive Notes
We can strengthen our community by recognizing the contributions of others. Take a moment to celebrate a student, faculty, or staff member for their “Positive Acts Within Smeal” by sending a PAWS-itive Note. Stop by room 212 of the Business Building to pick up a notecard!
Faculty Narratives on Advocacy of Smeal’s Culture and RISE Above Award
Commitment to Honor & Integrity plays a critical role in Smeal’s efforts to be one of the very best business schools in the world. Faculty play an integral role in achieving our Honor & Integrity related goals through their contributions to: extraordinary education (in formal teaching assignments as well as co-curricular engagements); impactful research (on topics that inform our understanding of, and ability to engage in, responsible business behavior); and professional, college and university service (e.g. as reviewers, committee members and advisors of student organizations).
Furthermore, all members of the Smeal community should put forth effort to increase awareness that Smeal is committed to a culture of integrity, and seek ways that we can engage with and advocate for initiatives that help to build and sustain an organization that demonstrates the Penn State Values (Community, Respect, Responsibility, Integrity, Discovery, Excellence).
Beginning in Spring 2019, faculty have been asked to provide a Narrative Statement on Advocacy of Smeal’s Culture through Digital Measures. Research, teaching, or service that impact Smeal’s culture directly or demonstrates our shared commitment to encouraging responsible business activity, should be reported. To enter this information, faculty may navigate to the Activities page of their Digital Measures account and locate the link “Narrative Statement on Advocacy of Smeal’s Culture” under the heading of General Information. A prompt to select the year for reporting activity will be provided, and then faculty will be able to submit a short narrative in the provided text box.
These narratives are used to select the college’s annual faculty recipient of the RISE Above award, which recognizes excellence in advancing Smeal’s goals of promoting Honor & Integrity through any combination of teaching, research or service related activities.