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'Ambitious goals are only of value if pursued honestly and fairly. Clandestine gains fail all: the community, business, and particularly the offenders.' John Gourlay
In 2004 John and Louise Gourlay provided a $2.5 million endowment to Trinity College to establish the Gourlay Visiting Professor of Ethics in Business initiative. Inspired by a belief that the exercise of uncompromising integrity and morality is not only intrinsically desirable, but also delivers improved and more certain business outcomes, the professorship promotes an over-riding ethical approach to business activity and decision making.
The Gourlay Visiting Professor endowment is used to bring an internationally distinguished professor to reside at Trinity College each year to teach ethics in business at Trinity College and the Faculty of Business and Economics, and within the wider Australian university community, plus local and business communities. The program exposes students from many disciplines to the world’s best minds in applied ethics, and helps them understand critically important principles, values and decision making frameworks.
2022 Gourlay Ethics in Business Week event: The Coal Conundrum at the Wheeler Centre.
GOURLAY ETHICS IN BUSINESS: PAST VISITING PROFESSORS
2024: Professor Mette Morsing
Mette Morsing is a Professor of Business Sustainability and Director of the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford.
2022: Gourlay Ethics in Business Week
To celebrate Trinity's 150th anniversary, five former Gourlay Professors were invited back to Melbourne for a series of events.
2021: Professor Andy Crane
Andrew Crane is a Professor of Business and Society and Director, Centre for Business, Organisations and Society (CBOS) at University of Bath, School of Management in the UK.
2018-19: PROFESSOR DIRK MATTEN
Professor Dirk Matten is from the Schulich School of Business at York University, Toronto, Canada, where he is the Associate Dean of Research and holds the Hewlett-Packard Chair in Corporate Social Responsibility.
2016-17: Professor Rob Phillips
Professor Rob Phillips is Professor of Management and Philosophy, Politics, Economics and Law (PPEL) at the E. Claiborne Robins School of Business of the University of Richmond, Virginia.
2014: Dr Rosamund Thomas
Dr Rosamund Thomas is director of the Centre for Business and Public Sector Ethics, Cambridge.
2013: PROFESSOR JEREMY MOON
Jeremy Moon is professor and founding director of the International Centre for Corporate Social Responsibility, Nottingham University Business School.
2012: Professor Ronald Jeurissen
Professor Ronald Jeurissen is from Holland and has been identified by previous Gourlay professors as one of the top three business ethicists in the world.
2011: Professor Joanne Cuilla
One of the founding faculty members of the Jepson School, Professor Joanne B Ciulla teaches courses on ethics, critical thinking, conflict resolution and leadership in international contexts.
2009-10: Professor Ed Freeman
Professor Ed Freeman is the Elis and Signe Olsson Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School at the University of Virginia.
2007-08: Professor Laura Hartman
Laura Hartman is Professor of Ethics in the Business Management Department at DePaul University, a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois.
2006-07: Professor Steve Salbu
Professor Steve Salbu joined Georgia Tech College of Management as dean and Stephen P. Zelnak Chairholder in July 2006.
The Gourlay Visiting Professor commitment
The Gourlay Visiting Professor of Ethics in Business participates in and contributes to a range of programs. This may include:
- living at Trinity College and engaging with the Trinity community
- presenting a public lecture
- providing a range of learning opportunities for students and academic staff by offering master classes to Trinity students, for example
- being a guest of honour and speaker at a major dinner
- being a guest of honour at an event for Melbourne’s business community.
About John Gourlay
John Gourlay was a resident student at Trinity from 1954–56. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with a Bachelor of Commerce, and in 1957, joined Coopers and Lybrand. During an 11-year career with the company, he worked in the Melbourne, Toronto and London offices, eventually holding the position of senior audit manager.
In 1968 he joined share brokers Davies and Dalziel as a client adviser and in 1972 moved to Parsons and Co share brokers as an institutional adviser and partner, furthering his successful and rewarding career as a stock broker and financial analyst.
John became a member of the Australian Stock Exchange in 1973, and a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. In 1974 he became a partner in McCaughan Dyson and Co, and was appointed chairman and managing director when the company was incorporated in 1984. He was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2007 for his contribution to accountancy and the community.
He and his wife Louise have made significant contributions to education, health and other spheres through philanthropic activities. John was the inaugural chairman of the Trinity Foundation in 1983, and his wife, Louise Gourlay OAM, was the inaugural president of Trinity’s Warden’s Circle.