Earlier this year, Xi Sigma Chapter partnered with Wingate University’s GPS Histories and Religions Department to co-sponsor a lecture entitled “Why Seemingly Smart People in Organizations Do Ethically Stupid Things”. Beth Colling the vice president and chief compliance officer of The Schaeffler Group USA, Inc., provided the lecture. 

Colling was a dynamic, energetic and extremely knowledgeable speaker who highlighted historically popular figures who made poor ethical decisions and how they were reprimanded for doing so. She gave her reasons for why people make poor ethical decisions, as well as strategies for how to avoid making similar mistakes.

Colling far exceeded expectations with her presentation. Students usually attend these events to fulfill a graduation requirement at Wingate (NC). As can be expected, not all students are thrilled to attend these events. However, Colling had the audience of 50 students laughing and engaged. It was evident that they actually liked listening to what she had to say. Students commented about how good Colling’s presentation was and how and much they enjoyed the event. This is a hard thing to achieve with college students, and Delta Sigma Pi was very fortunate to have Colling present her lecture on campus.

Xi Sigma Chapter put in a lot of effort to ensure the success of this event. Members reserved the venue and communicated with Colling to ensure event time and expectations were met. Members brought refreshments to the event to allow for an enlightening discussion with Colling prior to the lecture. They posted flyers and used social media outlets to ensure a good turnout. They also communicated the event to Wingate professors so students could receive class credit for attending.

Overall, this was one of the best lyceum events hosted by Delta Sigma Pi. Delta Sigma Pi members purchased a gift for Colling to show their appreciation for her efforts and their interest in building a relationship that will lead to future lectures.