Ragatz named to lead ethics center at the American College

Julie A. Ragatz has been named director of the Center for Ethics in Financial Services at the American College in Bryn Mawr, Pa. Touted as the only academic ethics center in the U.S. dedicated to studying issues involving the financial services industry and consumers, the center promotes ethical behavior by executives and producers through courses, workshops, forums and research into emerging ethical issues.

Ragatz joined the center in 2006 as a doctoral fellow and was previously its associate director. She has a masters of arts in social and political philosophy from Marquette University in Milwaukee and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. in philosophy at Temple University in Philadelphia. Her specialty is ethical theory, specifically as it relates to the financial services industry.

“We have seen the quality of Julie’s work for the past five years. After conducting a national search, we realized that the best candidate was right here in our own backyard,” said James A. Mitchell, CLU^(R), ChFC^(R), retired chairman, IDS Life Insurance Co. and chair of the center’s advisory board, in a statement announcing the appointment.

Ragatz teaches regularly at the Richard D. Irwin Graduate School at the American College. In addition, she has taught several courses in ethical theory and business ethics at several universities. In 2008, Ragatz designed and implemented, “Ethical Issues in the Accounting Environment” for the masters of accounting program at Villanova University.

Ragatz has published numerous articles and book chapters on ethical theory and business ethics. Working together with another faculty member, she completed “Ethics for the Financial Services Professional,” published by the American College Press in 2010. She also co-authored “Accounting Ethics,” published by Wiley/Blackwell Press in 2011.