Mission and Vision
Mission
"Our mission is to teach and inspire ethical leadership in our students, community, state and nation."
Vision
"Our vision is to promote and recognize ethical leadership at all levels of government and private industry."
The Richard Richards Institute is committed to ethical leadership locally, nationally and globally. Below is a summary of our programs:
| Focus | Richard Richards Institute Programs | Local | National | Global |
| Student Success |
Ethics Scholarships (High School Seniors) | X | ||
| Ethics Scholarships (WSU Ethics Certificate) | X | |||
| WSU Internship Scholarships | X | X | X | |
| WSU Study Abroad Scholarships | X | X | ||
| Community Commitment |
Ethical Leadership Awards | X | ||
| Ethics Slams | X | |||
| Ethics Days | X | |||
| Educational Excellence |
On-Campus Guest Speaker Events | X | X | X |
| Virtual Guest Speaker Dialogs | X | X | X | |
| Continuting Legal Education (CLE) | X |
Our History:
Weber State University established The Institute for Politics, Decency, and Ethical Conduct in May 2007, through a generous lead gift from Richard and Annette Richards. With this and support from other contributors, the institute was organized and held its first symposium on ethics and politics in December 2007 at Weber State University.
On April 3, 2009, Weber State University officially named the Institute for Politics, Decency & Ethical Conduct after Richard Richards in honor and recognition of his outstanding political accomplishments, generous contributions, and energetic commitment to prepare and educate students to become ethical leaders. At this time, a volunteer advisory board was established to support the mission of the Richards Institute.
In 2014, the institute’s name was changed to the Richard Richards Institute for Ethics to broaden its scope in teaching and inspiring ethical leadership in all areas of discipline. Since being established, multiple lectures and workshops have taken place and hundreds of Ethics Scholarships awarded.