Ethics Scenario #15: Friar College

15. Kelly is a committed fundraiser for Friar College, a 4-year liberal arts college in California and she is evaluated partially on the number of face-to-face visits she makes with alumni. She is also a committed marathon runner, and was quite proud to qualify for her first Boston Marathon, held on the third Monday of each April, Patriots Day. She decides that if she schedules meetings in Boston to meet with alumni and other potential donors, she can pad her statistics for face-to-face meetings, avoid having to take a couple of days vacation to compete in the marathon, and have the college absorb most of her travel costs for the trip, including airfare, hotel, and food expenses. She pays for the marathon entry fee out of her own pocket, and vows not to put the cab fare to Boston Commons, where the buses take runners to Hopkinton for the start of the race, on her expense account.

a. Is Kelly acting ethically by scheduling donor meetings in Boston during the week of her race?

b. What expenses she incurs should she absorb out of her own pocket for this race and what might she be ethically able to charge to the college?