UHV distinguished lecturer speaks out against unethical business practices

Helen Sharkey, a consultant and business ethics speaker, shares her story Nov. 2 about going to prison for securities fraud. She spoke to University of Houston-Victoria students, faculty and community members as part of the UHV School of Business Administration Distinguished Speaker Series. An additional 25 students at UHV’s Katy Campus watched the speech through a webcast. Sharkey worked for Dynegy, a Houston-based energy trading company brought up on federal fraud charges. Even though she was the lowest-level member of the team and others above her were making the decisions, Sharkey still was charged with a crime. If faced with a similar situation, she advised students to report and document wrongdoing.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.