FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

STUDENTS FROM AROUND THE NATION COMPETE TO SOLVE REAL LIFE BUSINESS DILEMMAS AT LMU'S NINTH ANNUAL BUSINESS ETHICS FORTNIGHT

March 29, 2004 - Student teams from around the nation will gather at Loyola Marymount University from April 22 -24 to solve some of the top ethical business challenges of the day at the Ninth Annual Business Ethics Fortnight. The event will take place at the university's Hilton Business Center, where teams will compete for cash prizes, which will total nearly $9,000. All events are open to the public free of charge.

LMU this year welcomes the largest group of students ever for the competition, including those from NYU, Villanova, Loyola Chicago, Army, Navy, Valparaiso University, Ohio University, University of Texas at Austin, San Diego State, USC, and Cal State, among others.

The Business Ethics Fortnight is presentation competition in which students are judged by faculty and professionals in the Los Angeles area business community as they debate a group of selected business topics that include an ethical dilemma.

Last year's intercollegiate winner was USC. The two runners-up were both teams from LMU. Topics included NASA disasters, alcohol and advertising, the publishing of R. Kelly's children's book, international online pharmacies, and labor conditions in Indonesia.

The Fortnight finishes with a 5K/10K Run For The Bay on Saturday morning, April 24, with celebrity runner Michael Payne, host and interior designer of HGTV's "Designing for the Sexes." Payne is a veteran runner who has run both the Los Angeles and Boston Marathons, among others.

The final face-off of the top three teams from Friday will close the day on Saturday, with an awards banquet to follow.

The Business Ethics Fortnight is sponsored by the College of Business Administration at LMU. Northrop Grumman Corporation, a $25 billion global defense enterprise, also contributes $15,000 annually to the event. This year, LRN, The Legal Knowledge Company also is contributing $2,000 for travel fellowships to the event, and an additional $1,000 for the "LRN Ethics Award." The award will go to the team with the strongest analysis and best insight into the ethical issues of the problem with which they are dealing. This is the ninth year of the program, and the sixth year for the national competition.

For more information, please contact Thomas White, Hilton Chair of Business Ethics, at 310.338.4523.

###