Elon students win national business ethics competition

Elon University senior Charley Costa and junior Stephen Azar won top honors last week in the 2010 Eller Ethics Case Competition, a prestigious national contest hosted by the University of Arizona and featuring many of the top-ranked undergraduate business schools in North America. It is the second time in as many years that Elon students took first place in the competition.

Elon junior Stephen Azar (left) and senior Charley Costa won first place in the 2010 Eller Ethics Case Competition.

The “invitation only” competition now in its eighth year fielded 30 teams. Hosted by the Eller College of Management at the University of Arizona, the competition exposes students to a timely business ethics case they could face in their professional careers.

Teams analyze, present information and respond to questions posed by judges. Assistant professor Christy Benson coached the team, and Gary Tsarsis, director of the Reed Finance Center and a lecturer in finance, assisted the team. Many other faculty from the Martha and Spencer Love School of Business attended practice sessions and provided guidance.

The win comes in the third year of participation by Elon University. Costa and Danny Bell ’10 won first place in 2009. In 2008, alumni Erika Lamanna and Garrett Pittenger reached the semifinals before their eventual elimination.

Schools participating in the 2010 contest:

Boston College
Case Western Reserve University
Concordia University (Canada)
Dalhousie University (Canada)
Elon University
Emory University
Georgetown University
Indiana University
Iowa State University
Kwantlen Polytechnic University (Canada)
La Salle University
North Carolina A&T State University
Northern Illinois University
Oregon State University
Pennsylvania State University
Purdue University
Simon Fraser University (Canada)
Syracuse University
United States Naval Academy
University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
University of Florida
University of Idaho
University of Iowa
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
University of Oregon
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Utah
University of Wisconsin – Madison
Valdosta State University