Stories from the National Day of Listening

This week's episode is a special episode of Ethics Talk. The Center for Professional and Personal Ethics at Central Michigan University was a participating organization in Story Corps' 'National Day of Listening'. As such, Hope May, Director of the Center interviewed 5 important individuals within her community about defining moments in their lives. Among the interviewed are Dr. Nolan Kaiser, who lost his sight and his left hand at age 14 whilst replicating one of Thomas Edison's experiments. Nevertheless, Nolan earned a doctorate in philosophy and taught at CMU for over 40 years. Nolan explains how losing his accident actually helped him to see more clearly. Next, Deanna Heath, a remarkable woman who was formidable in raising the funds for Mt. Pleasant's Woodland Hospice, where she served for its Director for several years. Despite her success in this role, she left to return to earn Masters in Social Work. In the interview, she explains why. After Deanna, we hear from Bruce Roscoe, who has served as the Dean of Students of CMU since 1997. In this interview, we learn that although there is a dark side to Bruce's work, it has given him both professional and personal insights. Sally Goodrow's interview follows Bruce. Sally's husband, John, was rector at St. John's Episcopal parish, whose mission included helping those in the community. Sally discusses the unexpected death of her husband in 1987 and how she decided to preserve his legacy by forming the "Goodrow Fund" which continues to provide critical services to the community. Finally, Dr. Jeffrey Wigand, subject of the academy award nominated film 'The Insider', discusses how the lessons learned in childhood played a role in his decision to tackle the tobacco industry, and his commitment to education.