Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership
Our Mission
The mission of the Frances Marlin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership is to advance moral development, human flourishing and Christlikeness through research, training and practice within the Samford community and beyond.
Our Vision
Marvin Mann
Created in 2008 through the generous support of Marvin Mann, a distinguished alumnus of Samford University, the center is named in memory of Mr. Mann’s wife, Frances Marlin Mann.
Mann, a first-generation college graduate and native of Springdale, Alabama, understood the meaning of hard work and treasured the value of his Samford education. After graduating from Samford in 1954, he worked for IBM for 32 years and went on to found Lexmark International, Inc. in 1991 where he served as chief executive officer and chairman until 1999. He was named Samford’s Alumnus of the Year in 2004 and received an honorary doctorate in commerce from the university in 1993.
He wanted the center's programs to reflect the lessons of respect, integrity and virtuous living that came to be hallmarks of his own personal and professional development and wanted each student to be imbued with a sense of moral responsibility and ethical behavior.
The vision of the Mann Center is that it will reach Samford students, the university and the world by:
- Producing and disseminating research that contributes to the body of knowledge in virtues, moral and ethical development.
- Equipping faculty to recognize virtues, moral and ethical tenets in curriculum and teaching and inviting them to become exemplary in these components of their work.
- Evaluating how virtues, moral and ethical values cultivated at Samford lead to flourishing lives.
Our Work
With a Christ-centered focus, the work of the Center includes programs and activities to
- facilitate leading-edge scholarship among faculty, including collaborative and interdisciplinary research related to moral and ethical virtues, values and faith integration in the professions, and character development
- mentor and support undergraduate and graduate students through research opportunities
- create networks of continuous learning among faculty with similar academic and research interests within the university and across institutions
- widely share the scholarly work of the Center through conferences, seminars, workshops, lectures, webinars, digital media, and print publications
An interdisciplinary faculty group serves in an advisory capacity to inform the plans and priorities of the Center. In addition, an external advisory board provides support from academic experts, interested alumni, and friends of the University.