As part of Coastal Carolina University’s 50th Anniversary Initiatives, the family of area business and civic leaders Nelson and Mary Emily  Jackson have made a gift to the university to establish a resource center focusing on values and ethics.

The purpose of the Jackson Family Values & Ethics Center is to cultivate and promote an awareness in students of the importance of personal and professional integrity. The center will sponsor scholarships and visiting scholars as well as public discussion forums on ethical issues in science, business, education, and the arts and humanities.

 “This new center, which will be unique to our region in its purpose and its scope, recognizes and celebrates the superlative example of integrity and civic commitment for which Nelson and Emily Jackson and their family are already well known throughout the region and the state,” said Coastal President Ronald R. Ingle.

A major feature of the new center will be its “Four Cornerstone” programs: the Jackson Scholars, the Jackson Junior Scholars, the Jackson Visiting Ethicist, and the Jackson Resource Center.

• Jackson Scholars—Beginning in the spring semester of 2005, five Coastal sophomores will be selected annually for the Jackson Scholars program, which entails two years of ethical leadership studies in the classroom, an ethics-focused internship in the local community, and the preparation of an annual report to the Jackson family.

• Jackson Junior Scholars—Beginning in the summer of 2005, the center will sponsor an annual Summer Ethics Academy, which will be attended by 10 to 15 selected sixth-graders from Horry and Georgetown county schools. The three-day event, devoted to the ethical development of young students, involves posing, discussing and resolving an ethical issue in a group setting.

• Jackson Visiting Ethicist—Each year a nationally recognized ethics scholar will visit Coastal to deliver a public lecture, teach a master class for Jackson Scholars, and give a talk to area middle school students.

• Jackson Resource Center—As part of Coastal’s longstanding mission to community service, the center will provide resources and development opportunities to university faculty and staff and to area business, entrepreneurial and service organizations. Activities will include workshops for employees of area businesses and organizations, development of a resource library including information on speakers and facilitators, and ongoing service as a “triage” center for local inquiries on matters of ethical concern.

The Jackson family plans to take an active role in the center, which will be advised by a Board of Directors to be drawn up during the summer. The board will approve budgets, interview and assist in the selection of the Jackson Scholars and the Jackson Visiting Ethicist, and supervise the long-range direction of the center.