Teams that included University of Arkansas students took the top three spots in the Moral Compass Competition of the 2020 International Business Ethics Case Competition.

The competition was held online this year because of restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I am delighted that there were University of Arkansas students on each of the three top teams in the Moral Compass Competition," said Cindy Moehring, founder and executive chair of the Business Integrity Leadership Initiative at the Sam M. Walton College of Business. "And to do it in our first year that we competed was outstanding."

Ethan Taylor, a freshman, was on the first place team "Bagel Running;" Kaleigh Koc, a junior, represented the U of A on the "Pit Bull and Taylor Swift" team which finished second in the competition; and Ruben Chung, a senior, was on the third place team, "Pot and Glove."

The Moral Compass Competition is part of the International Business Ethics Case Competition. Teams made up of three to four students took details from their own lives and wove them into a story containing an ethical issue. Judges from a wide range of businesses and industries read the stories and ranked them.

Faith Raun, Katie Brandt and Avery Barker, all U of A students, also participated in the event, a first for the Walton College Business Integrity Leadership Initiative.

Each team's creative ethical dilemma, featuring fun facts about each team member, can be viewed online.

The Walton College was the Presenting Partner of this year's competition, along with Northrop Grumman, the IBECC Presenting Sponsor.