Endowment to Name LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy
From left to right, Danita Nias, vice president for institutional advancement at FAU; Wesley Hawkins, Ph.D., dean of the College for Design and Social Inquiry; Merrett R. Stierheim; FAU President John Kelly; Peter Cruise, Ph.D., executive director of the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy; LeRoy Collins III; Joe Oglesby; and Ismael Diaz.
Florida Atlantic University’s Public Ethics Academy within the School of Public Administration in the College for Design and Social Inquiry recently received a $475,000 endowment from the LeRoy Collins Legacy Group, Inc. to name the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy in honor of former Florida Gov. LeRoy Collins.
“It was my grandfather’s steadfast conviction with respect for others and a moral courage guided by the truth and by his conscience that helped him define his leadership,” said LeRoy Collins III, Collins Center board member. “FAU is a worthy partner and I am excited to see all that the Academy will accomplish.”
In addition to naming the Public Ethics Academy, a portion of the endowment will be used to fund two student scholarships each year.
The Academy, first organized by FAU in 2009, was re-launched in 2017 and Peter Cruise, Ph.D., was named its executive director. The University-based nature of the Academy, housed at FAU’s Boca Raton campus, allows for the rapid incorporation and dissemination of the latest scholarly research on ethics issues by noted faculty for the Academy’s training programs.
“The Academy’s research and training programs will promote and inform the principles Gov. Collins stood for and believed in,” said Wesley Hawkins, Ph.D., dean of the College for Design and Social Inquiry. “This generous endowment will impact students for years to come and expand the Academy’s programs and services throughout the University.”
The Academy’s objectives are to increase understanding of local government and how it functions, promote high ethical standards in public service, provide an informational base for more informed policy making and develop the capacity of local officials to govern effectively.
“As one example of FAU President John Kelly’s vision of significant community engagement, the wonderful public service legacy of Gov. LeRoy Collins will continue at FAU through the Public Ethics Academy that now bears his name,” Cruise said.
For more information on the LeRoy Collins Public Ethics Academy at FAU, visit cdsi.fau.edu/spa/pea/.
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