Murray G. Bacon Center of AI Ethics in Business
In an effort to provide ethics and leadership in the area of artificial intelligence (AI), the Debbie and Jerry Ivy College of Business announces the launch of the Murray G. Bacon Center of AI Ethics in Business, a strategic reinvention of an initiative that was solely focused on business ethics.
Professor of Management and Entrepreneurship Mike Howard will be leading the center.
“The center will align with Iowa State University’s land-grant mission by advancing ethical innovation, fostering public engagement, and promoting responsible use of AI technologies for the benefit of society,” said Raisbeck Endowed Dean Raj Agnihotri. “AI is rapidly emerging as a transformative force in today’s business landscape. The center will be well positioned to play a critical role in preparing our students.”
AI is reshaping business strategy, innovation, and decision-making at unprecedented speed—unlocking extraordinary opportunity while demanding profound ethical responsibility, said Howard, the Hilsinger-Janson Professor. “A narrow window exists for academic centers to shape norms rather than merely comment on them. My vision for the center is that it will be an action-oriented hub producing high-impact applied research, equipping future leaders with ethical frameworks, and building industry partnerships that improve responsible AI deployment.”
We will work together to help avoid the perils and realize the promise of AI for the benefit of our students, our state, and our society.
Michael D. Howard, director of the Murray G. Bacon Center for AI Ethics in Business
Areas of focus
Howard identified three areas of focus for the center:
Research leadership: Coordinating hub for applied AI ethics scholarship across Iowa State; annual business case and working paper series; publications in impactful journals.
Student learning: AI ethics micro-credential; integrated curriculum; preparing ethical decision-makers for real-world AI choices.
Industry engagement: Create a Corporate Affiliates Program; executive workshops; student consulting projects on live AI implementations.
According to the Stanford AI Index 2025, PwC Responsible AI Survey 2025:
- There was a 56 percent Increase in AI usage in 2024.
- Only about 2 percent of organizations have comprehensive AI governance.
- 60 percent of executives say responsible AI boosts their return on investment.
First year priorities
Priorities for the first year of the center include:
- Establish advisory board with industry leaders.
- Launch inaugural call for working papers and cases.
- Begin micro-credential curriculum design.
- Secure first corporate affiliates.
- Pilot micro-credential modules.
- Recruit an interdisciplinary research team.
- Host inaugural Responsible AI in Business
- Showcase first working papers, cases.
- Announce year two expansion plans.
“The Murray G. Bacon Center offers a timely opportunity to energize research, teaching, and positive economic impact around one of our era’s defining challenges,” Howard said. “We will work together to help avoid the perils and realize the promise of AI for the benefit of our students, our state, and our society.”
-
About Murray G. Bacon
After reading about too many business ethics issues on the front pages of newspapers, Murray G. Bacon, a retired computer executive, wanted to develop educational strategies and materials to teach ethics to students. Since the mid-1990s, the Iowa State University Ivy College of Business has worked in conjunction with the late Bacon and a number of passionate supporters to organize a series of activities designed to focus attention on ethics. This new center is a continuation and expansion of that work.
March 24, 2026
