An essay by Zicklin School of Business graduate student David Rivera entitled "Silence Is Not Golden" won the school's 2002-2003 Abraham Briloff Prize for Business Ethics. The annual prize, presented during the end-of-year College Awards Ceremony, promotes the legacy of Abraham Briloff ('37, MS '41), Emanuel Saxe Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the College's Stan Ross Department of Accountancy. The award, funded by a gift from Charles R. Dreifus ('66, MBA '73), includes a $500 honorarium.

Briloff is a longtime crusader for ethical business practices. An alumnus of Baruch College, Briloff was recently named one of the "Top 100 Most Influential People" by Accounting Today.

Rivera's submission argues for the promotion of a culture of discussion and debate among his fellow Honors MBA students. Using a framework of five moral tests borrowed from Baruch's Douglas Lackey, philosophy professor and former Briloff Prize recipient, Rivera contends that the lack of vigorous student debate and discussion is not only disappointing, but also immoral.

Rivera's essay fought off stiff competition to win this year's Briloff Prize, according to Provost David Dannenbring. Among his toughest contenders were the other two essays he submitted. "The committee, unaware that the author was one and the same, was equally impressed with your other submissions," wrote Dannenbring in a congratulatory letter to Rivera. "In fact, a lively debate ensued as to which of the three papers deserved the prize!"

Rivera, who earned his undergraduate degree at Princeton University, also wrote an article on the College's Ethics Across and Beyond the Curriculum seminar series for the March 2003 issue of the Graduate Voice, the college's graduate student newspaper. Both the article and the award-winning essay are available at http://www.baruch.cuny.edu/news/golden-silence.html. —OF