The Ethics of Asking: Dilemmas in Higher Education Fund Raising [Hardcover]

Deni Elliott (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0801850495 | ISBN-13: 978-0801850493 | Publication Date: June 1, 1995 | Edition: 1

• A college development officer is offered a generous gift by a donor whose identity would embarrass the institution. Should the development officer accept?

• A volunteer lies about his level of giving, but classmates believe him and match his "gift." Should donors be told the truth?

• A development officer must explain to a donor the difference between naming an endowed chair and selecting the person to fill the chair. Where is the line between reasonable donor expectations and intrusion?

"There was a time, barely a generation ago, when most college fund raising was a placid, back-porch operation... That pattern, like so much in higher education, began to change dramatically... On the heels of all this change comes this splendid volume by Deni Elliot. The new fund-raising environment raises a host of ethical questions that were largely unknown or unrecognized by earlier generations of fund raisers... The great value of this book is that it provides some clear-eyed guidance through the ethical thicket that is modern higher education fund raising. The great charm of the book is that it provides this important service with such eloquence and good taste... Anyone involved in modern fund raising will find something of value in this book." -- G. Calvin MacKenzie, Academe

"This volume provides college and university development officers and administrators practical help with recognizing difficult ethical situations and discerning the correct ethical response. It can also serve as a guide for donors who wonder what's reasonable for them to expect from fund raisers." -- Resources in Education

Contributors: Allen Buchanan, James A. Donahue, Marilyn Batt Dunn, Deni Elliott, Bernard Gert, Judith M. Gooch, Bruce R. Hopkins, Frank Logan, Mary Lou Siebert, Holly Smith, and Eric B. Wentworth.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"There was a time, barely a generation ago, when most college fund raising was a placid, back-porch operation... That pattern, like so much in higher education, began to change dramatically... On the heels of all this change comes this splendid volume by Deni Elliot. The new fund-raising environment raises a host of ethical questions that were largely unknown or unrecognized by earlier generations of fund raisers... The great value of this book is that it provides some clear-eyed guidance through the ethical thicket that is modern higher education fund raising. The great charm of the book is that it provides this important service with such eloquence and good taste... Anyone involved in modern fund raising will find something of value in this book." -- G. Calvin MacKenzie, Academe

"This volume provides college and university development officers and administrators practical help with recognizing difficult ethical situations and discerning the correct ethical response. It can also serve as a guide for donors who wonder what's reasonable for them to expect from fund raisers." -- Resources in Education

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press; 1 edition (June 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801850495
• ISBN-13: 978-0801850493
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,797,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Deni Elliott holds the Poynter Jamison Chair in Media Ethics and Press Policy and is full professor in the Department of Journalism at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. She serves as campus Ombuds, member of the USF Social and Behavioral IRB, and Director of Graduate Studies for her department. She is also the Ethics Officer for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Dr. Elliott has written extensively on the important relationships among public officials, journalists and citizens in the development and promotion of democracies. She has participated in an NGO effort to help representatives from 16 West African countries deliberate on the role of the press in emerging democracies, and has hosted a radio show for public radio stations designed to encourage citizens to recognize their power in the political process and become more active players in the democratic process. Along with her University teaching, her current work includes working with public officials to maintain ethical political process within a context of open government.

Prior appointments: Mansfield Professor of Ethics and Public Affairs (1992-1996), University Professor of Ethics (1996-2004), Professor of Philosophy (1992-2004), and Founding Director, Practical Ethics Center (1996-2004) at the University of Montana; Founding Director, Ethics Institute (1988-1992), Adjunct Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy and Associate Research Professor, Department of Education at Dartmouth College (1990-92); Assistant Professor (1985-87), Associate Professor with tenure (;1988-92). Department of Mass Communication, Utah State University.

Dr. Elliott's publications have spanned the disciplines of practical ethics. She is the author of more than 150 articles and book chapters for the scholarly, trade and lay press. Her authored, co-authored, and edited books include Ethical Challenges (Authorhouse, 2008), Ethics in the First Person, A Guide to Teaching and Learning Practical Ethics (Rowman & Littlefield, 2007), The Kindness of Strangers, Philanthropy in Higher Education (Rowman & Littlefield, 2006), Journalism Ethics: Contemporary Issues, (ABC-CLIO, 1998), Ethics of Scientific Research, A Guidebook for Course Development, (UPNE, 1997), and Research Ethics: A Reader, (UPNE, 1997). The Ethics of Asking: Dilemmas in Higher Education Fundraising, was published by Johns Hopkins University Press in 1996, and Responsible Journalism was published by SAGE in 1986. She has also produced three documentaries: The Burden of Knowledge, which considers the new moral questions created by pre-natal genetic testing. A Case of Need and Buying Time both focus on the role of news media in bringing about extraordinary medical care. All three documentaries are distributed by Fanlight Productions. From February, 2003-June, 2006, she hosted Ethically Speaking, a weekly 2-minute radio show syndicated through PRX (Public Radio Exchange).

Dr. Elliott holds a B.A. in Communication from University of Maryland, M.A. in Philosophy from Wayne State University and an interdisciplinary doctoral degree in Philosophy of Education from Harvard University with study at the Kennedy School of Government, Department of Philosophy, School of Education, and Harvard Law School.