Corey Ciocchetti
University of Denver
Daniels College of Business
“Professor C. Is a life-changing professor. He cares about his students’ academic success, but also their happiness and balance in their personal lives. He teaches ethics but students walk out of the classroom reflecting on their values and true passions. Not only do we learn in the classroom, but Professor C Gives students the opportunity to do projects in the Denver community and allows students to learn how to be true leaders and Changemakers.” – Emma Bliwas
Corey Ciocchetti, 47, is the Bill Daniels Chair and Professor of Business Ethics & Legal Studies at University of Denver Daniels College of Business. He is regarded as one of the university’s most popular and highest-rated professors.
He has won multiple teaching and speaking awards including the Master Teacher Award and the Junior Distinguished Faculty Award from the Academy of Legal Studies in Business, the Outstanding Professor of the Year Award from the University of Denver, and the Joel Goldman Award for most respected speaker on the CAMPUSPEAK roster.
His research has won the top awards at the international meeting of the Academy of Legal Studies in Business and been published in his discipline’s top journals. He currently teaches classes on business law and ethics to undergraduate and graduate business students. He also created popular extracurricular programs like a two-day Ethics Boot Camp for undergraduate business students that have been replicated at other universities. He is proud to mentor the DU gymnastics team and Alpha Phi sorority.
He speaks to tens of thousands of individuals each year about authentic success and living an ethical life. He is the author of the book “Inspire Integrity: Chase An Authentic Life.”
BACKGROUND
At current institution since what year? 2005
Education: JD – Duke University School of Law; MDiv – Denver Seminary; MA – University of Denver; BSBA (Finance) & BA (Economics) – University of Denver
List of Undergraduate courses you teach: Ethics & Your World, The Supreme Court & Your Life, Advanced Constitutional Law, Daniels Ethics Fellows, Foundations of Business Law
TELL US ABOUT LIFE AS A BUSINESS SCHOOL PROFESSOR
I knew I wanted to be a business school professor when … I saw the long-term impact I could have on students’ lives and legacies in their communities. One of my goals as an ethics professor has always been to encourage my students to evaluate their work lives AND home lives and try to be the best person they can be in both realms. I am also weary of mantas like, “Ethics: the ultimate business advantage” because . . . what if it isn’t? In the short-term, ethics may not be an advantage in a transactional world like ours, though I do believe that ethical behavior will lead to the best outcomes in the long run. To this end, I am excited to explore with my students the idea of doing the right thing solely because it is the right thing to do.
What are you currently researching and what is the most significant discovery you’ve made from it? Lately, I spend a great deal of time thinking about how the American system of government was designed to operate with states and the federal government sharing power. This concept of federalism is extraordinary when it works properly and allows states to experiment with laws and policies that best fit their local populations. But, if state actors abuse the relationship by operating outside of their constitutional realm, and the federal government chooses not to stop it, chaos may ensue, the federal government loses some of its power, and the system is in jeopardy of breaking.
If I weren’t a business school professor, I’d be … a basketball coach (at any level). That would be so fun as it requires many of the same skills I use as a professor.
What do you think makes you stand out as a professor? I care deeply about my students’ academic and personal lives. I want them to go into the world and make a difference not just in their careers but with their future families and friends. My desire is for them not just to climb the ladder of success but to also make sure their ladder is leaning against the right wall. There is no point to relentlessly climbing and experiencing all the stress and exhaustion that comes with it without an end goal that matters deeply to them being the most important reason for climbing in the first place.
One word that describes my first-time teaching: Comically-exhilarating. Context: my first class was literally the morning after my honeymoon in Hawaii ended. We flew back to Denver that morning and the airline lost my bag. I had to teach my first class in the Hawaiian shirt, shorts, and flip flops I was wearing on the long flight home. The students thought I did it on purpose and I became popular in their eyes very quickly.
Here’s what I wish someone would’ve told me about being a business school professor: That each generation of students is very different and that it is very difficult to identify when the generations change and the different things they need to succeed. If a professor misses these subtle clues, then the classroom experience will suffer.
Professor I most admire and why: Professor John Holcomb was my mentor and friend throughout my entire career at the University of Denver. He was an expert of law and public policy and could literally cite any statistic or theory in the field from its inception. He gave me my first opportunity to teach, and I have not wanted to let him down ever since.
TEACHING BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENTS
What do you enjoy most about teaching business students? I teach law, ethics, and business all at the same time and so I generally get to use the front page of the New York Times or Wall Street Journal as my introduction to every class. While perhaps a sad testament to our times, it makes for a very compelling and practical experience for my students. There are few if any topics that are off limits in my classes.
What is most challenging? The ridiculous idea that it is “impossible to teach business ethics. Either someone has ethics, or they don’t.” I have been told this so many times over my nearly two decades in academia that I have lost count. And, of course, nothing could be further from the truth. When someone says that to me, I often reply. “Really, then where did you learn how to lie? Or to be mean? On the other hand. how did you learn to treat others with respect, etc.” We all learn these things from other people, and, in that sense, we are taught about morality from an early age. What no one can do is force a person to be good as that requires internal motivation. But certainly, ethics can be taught.
In one word, describe your favorite type of student: Character-Infused
In one word, describe your least favorite type of student: Disinterested
When it comes to grading, I think students would describe me as … Unique. I do oral finals and so my students sit with me one-on-one for 15 minutes with no notes. They choose one topic from class, and I choose the other. This approach makes assigning grades crystal clear because it is obvious who understands the material. Good grades come easy to those who put in the work.
LIFE OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM
What are your hobbies? Coaching my daughters’ soccer teams – the Kicking Kangaroos and the Leaping Lions, basketball, and woodworking (albeit very slowly).
How will you spend your summer? Remodeling our home as a family. Prayers welcome.
Favorite place(s) to vacation: Dana Point, California and anywhere in Arizona.
Favorite book(s): Anything by John Grisham. Even though I mostly teach ethics now I am still a law nerd.
What is currently your favorite movie and/or show and what is it about the film or program that you enjoy so much? My wife and I really enjoy watching Billions and trying to juxtapose everything I teach in my ethics classes with the plotline.
What is your favorite type of music or artist(s) and why? Sadly (perhaps) most of my music and art time is redirected to kids’ movies because of my young daughters. I will say that this may be a blessing in disguise as there are plenty of good ethics snippets and theories from some of these cartoon movies. I am thinking specifically about the when in doubt “do the next right thing” from the Frozen movies. That is actually a powerful piece of advice.
THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
If I had my way, the business school of the future would have much more of this … a strong focus on graduating high-character students who go into the world (in their jobs and personal life) with their moral compass pointing in the right direction. This would be the mission statement of the entire school and the rest of the curriculum would flow neatly around it.
In my opinion, companies and organizations today need to do a better job at … This is a question near and dear to my heart as I spend a great deal of time speaking to these groups. Our society needs more character-infused leaders. We need people who care about the dignity of the people who work for them, who have an others outlook, who own their mistakes, and who create a work environment filled with virtues such as courage, compassion, dependability, honesty, and trust. These things are all morale building and when worker morale is high they give more to their organization.
I’m grateful for … my beautiful, intelligent wife and extraordinarily precious little girls and also the way that my life has turned out. I ask my students at the end of each class if they would do the last five to ten years of their lives over if they were guaranteed to have all the knowledge the gained but where everything else was not certain to be the same. It’s a trick question because, for most of us, we realize after thinking about this that we likely would not be anywhere near where we are today. We wouldn’t get as lucky, and things wouldn’t bounce our way as often. Even with all the bad things I have gone through over the past decade or so, I wouldn’t do it over. I am grateful for that perspective.
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