Washington DC, October 26, 2006...The Center for Ethics in Free Enterprise, a non-profit division of the online university builders, Global
Academy Online, Inc., has launched its ‘Four-Point Community Character & Ethics' development program. Based
on CEFE’s nine building blocks of character, the program is offered nationwide and internationally by CEFE Fellows who
are Certified Applied Ethicists. The nine building blocks include truthfulness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring,
citizenship, courage, commitment and faith.
The “Four Point” evolved, according to LaFonda Oliver,
spokeswoman for CEFE, as a result of grant support for Professor Fred DiUlus, the Executive Director of CEFE, and local educators
in New Mexico from US Senator Pete Domenici’s Office. Earmarked for the development of character and ethics training
of professional educators to pass down to their students and share with their community, it was the beneficiary of another
program previously put in place by DiUlus and his cohorts. The New Mexico model and the evolution of the “Four Point”
program, states Oliver, was greatly influenced by the dedication and commitment of several community leaders in Jacksonville,
Florida.
The Florida leaders, Oliver notes, eventually included over a hundred civic leaders from all walks of
life led by a steering committee that included DiUlus, who, at the time, taught ethics and entrepreneurship at the University
of North Florida. Others on that pioneering steering committee were the late community social activist Howard Sweet, the former
president of the Jacksonville City Council, Councilwoman Ginger Soud, Superior Court Judge Brad Stetson, and Chairman and
catalyst of the Committee, Jacksonville businessman, Bill Gay, Jr. “Our effort from the beginning” states DiUlus,
“was to create and install effective and meaningful character and integrity training, not only among educators, but
among the community’s leadership, their associates, co-workers and citizens at large.”
“The Four
Point is described by our CEFE Fellows,” states Oliver, “as one that is organic and evolved from these highly
successful community undertakings over the past decade.” DiUlus refers to it as “a continuous cycle of character
and ethics improvement.” The CEFE Fellows are themselves trained to provide the ethical blueprint for a community’s
ethical activism, a point made on the CEFE website when it describes the program as giving community leaders and educators
the opportunity to “adopt and adapt a community wide character and ethics program that has teeth, clout, and long term
staying power.” Ms. Oliver points out, “The Four-Point is easily adaptable to any organization, anywhere in the
world.”
When asked why such a program is necessary today, DiUlus points to CEFE’s own exhaustive research
that supports the results originally uncovered by the US Department of Labor. “There is and continues to be serious
gaps in ethics and values training among today’s global work force. CEFE’s Four-Point program” he goes on
to say, “ignites personal and community character and ethics education.”
The “Four Point”
program is conducted for ten or more participants over an extended weekend.
