At the heart of leadership lies one enduring challenge: making decisions when there is no easy answer. That challenge will take center stage during Clemson University’s 8th Annual Ethics Day keynote address on Wednesday, October 22, when members of the Rutland Institute for Ethics Advisory Board gather for a candid conversation on the choices that shape organizations, communities, and careers.
The session, Leadership 101: Making the Hard Decisions, will be moderated by CHANGE member Samone Middleton and will bring together a panel of leaders whose professional paths span corporate boardrooms, public service, human resources, and financial regulation. Each panelist carries with them a story of moments when their values were tested—and each believes that Clemson students have much to gain from hearing those stories.
The session will be held virtually from 5:30-7 p.m. Clemson community members, faculty, staff, and students can learn more and register for the session at the link here.
For Nancy Whitworth, who spent decades shaping Greenville’s remarkable downtown revitalization, the urgency of ethical decision-making feels sharper than ever. She acknowledged the daily challenges of a polarized public, social media overload and the rise of AI. “Discerning right from wrong, fact from fiction and finding our true moral compass is not easy,” she said. Yet she encouraged students to trust the process: even if leaders will not always make the “right” choice, following an ethical framework equips them to handle future uncertainty.
Bryan Batson, executive vice president of Southern Company Gas, echoed Whitworth’s concern about technology by pointing to artificial intelligence as a test for every profession. He argued that decision-making is universal—whether in law, medicine, or engineering—and added that the challenge lies in applying AI’s efficiency “while maintaining your ethical borders to protect the integrity of your profession.”
Anderson Garcia extended this theme of responsibility into the workplace. For him, ethical leadership is inseparable from daily practice. “As an HR leader, ethical decision-making is ingrained and embedded in how I think, how I operate, and in the expectations of the working environment,” he said. Garcia emphasized the importance of staying connected with one’s team rather than assuming all is well: “You’ve got to poke your head up and make sure you are engaging…so you can be counted on to do the right thing when you are in that position.”
Together, Batson, Garcia, Whitworth, and fellow panelist Nicole Clifton—a Clemson graduate now serving as a vice president in Truist Bank’s Financial Intelligence Unit—will offer students and faculty a glimpse into the dilemmas that define leadership in practice, not just theory. Their careers, while spanning different industries, converge on a shared conviction: that decision-making rooted in values is the only way to sustain trust, foster innovation, and build lasting impact.
This year’s keynote will showcase that conviction while inviting the Clemson community to wrestle with it personally. For students preparing to enter professions where the answers are rarely simple, the conversation offers a chance to see how leaders navigate ambiguity, uphold integrity, and keep their compass steady in times of change.
