Tobacco whistleblower to highlight spring Ethics Center series

KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The former tobacco company researcher who went public with accusations that his company intentionally manipulated the blend of its products to make them more addictive will highlight the upcoming spring season of six lectures presented by the Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society.

Jeffrey Wigand will speak at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 7, in Fetzer Center's Kirsch Auditorium five days after the film "The Insider" is screened at 5 p.m. Thursday, April 2, in 1028 Brown Hall. Starring Russell Crowe as Wigand and co-starring Al Pacino, "The Insider" retells the chain of events that pitted an ordinary man against the tobacco industry and dragged two people into the fight of their lives after Wigand's admission on the CBS news program 60 Minutes that Brown & Williamson intentionally increased the amount of nicotine in its cigarettes.

The ethics center's spring series of lectures began last month with a new look at Dr. Martin Luther King's speech at WMU. The presentation, titled "Social Justice and the Emerging New Age: A 21st Century Look at Martin Luther King's WMU Speech," featured a panel discussion with philosophy graduate assistants Dustin Van Pelt, Dustin Sigsbee and Michael Lindquist.

Other presentations

The dates, presenter, time, locations and titles of other upcoming ethics center events include:

• Feb. 10: Winnie Veenstra Peace Lecture featuring Dr. Hope May, professor of philosophy at Central Michigan University, 7 p.m., 2028 Brown Hall, "Peace Education and the U.S. Public School: Embracing Global Citizenship Prior to World War I."

• Feb. 25: Panel discussion featuring Dr. Norman Hawker, WMU professor of finance and commercial law, Dr. Michael Pritchard, WMU professor of philosophy, and Victoria Vuletich, professor of law at the WMU Cooley Law School, 7 p.m., President's Dining Room, Bernhard Center, "Professional Ethics in Challenging Times."

• March 17: Dr. Dan Wueste, director of the Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics at Clemson University, 4 p.m., 159 Bernhard Center, "Vulnerability, Preventability and Responsibility: Exploring Some Normative Implications of the Human Condition."

• April 16: Janelle DeWitt, WMU assistant professor of philosophy, 4 p.m., Brown and Gold Room, Bernhard Center.

For more information, contact Dr. Sandra Borden at sandra.borden@wmich.edu, Dr. Michael Pritchard at michael.pritchard@wmich.edu or visit wmich.edu/ethics.