Celebrating 20 Years at The Beach

Over 125 campus and community leaders gathered at the Anna W. Ngai Alumni Center this spring to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership. The event also served as a reunion for over 80 of the center’s 375 Student Leadership Institute alumni.  Other attendees included campus administrators and faculty, as well as Ukleja Center board members and Student Leadership Institute program site hosts and guest speakers.

Designed as a university-wide interdisciplinary center of excellence and housed in the College of Business, the Ukleja Center for Ethical Leadership offers training to enhance the integration of ethics in everything we do. During its 20th year of operations, the center enthusiastically engaged students, faculty, and community leaders through programs and services that embody its core values of integrity, servant leadership, excellence, and empowerment.

Since its inception, the Ukleja Center has focused its services on three pillars – education, community engagement, and university research.  Some 2005-2025 highlights include:

  • Ethics Across the Curriculum – To advance its vision of having an ethics module in every CSULB course, the center offers $3,000 stipends to faculty who integrate a 3-hour ethics module into their courses. Since 2005, it has awarded $585,000 in stipends to 224 faculty members teaching in disciplines as diverse as art, engineering, gerontology, journalism, science education, and business marketing.

  • Ethics Research Program – The Ukleja Center also offers $5,000 stipends to faculty who want to conduct original ethics research.  Since 2013, it has awarded $120,000 in research stipends to 24 faculty members from a variety of disciplines across campus.  

  • Student Leadership Institute – CSULB students of all academic majors can explore ethical issues related to business, government, education, healthcare and other professional fields by participating in this 2-semester course.  The class is hosted by local business leaders, who also serve as guest speakers. A leadership retreat, teamwork, community service, and networking with business professionals are integral to this experiential learning opportunity.

  • Code of Ethics – In 2006-2007, the Ukleja Center worked with Long Beach Unified School District to help them develop a Code of Ethics for all employees, both certificated and classified.  This code continues to be signed by all school district employees to this day.

  • Nell and John Wooden Ethics in Leadership Award – An annual award is presented to an organization or leader who embodies the visionary leadership and ethical principles of John Wooden.  The inaugural award was presented to Coach Wooden in 2009, with subsequent honorees including Special Olympics Southern California and California Governor George Deukmejian.  

All of the Ukleja Center’s programs and services are made possible through the generous support of our local philanthropic community, particularly the Ukleja and Dickson families.  The center’s purpose – equipping people with the transformational power of ethical leadership – is truly a lifelong mission and the future has never been brighter with endless opportunities to bring this mission to life!