Washington, DC -- (ReleaseWire) -- 08/07/2006 --CEFE, The Center for Ethics in Free Enterprise, a ten year “not for profit” veteran of training of individuals and institutions in ethics and entrepreneurship has announced the opening of its membership based Applied Ethics Institute and certified applied ethics training program.

“Membership in the Institute is open to all practitioners, scholars, students of applied ethics, and those that want to be” according to spokeswoman and Director of Communications for CEFE, LaFonda Oliver.

The Institute is designed to be an active network of applied ethics professionals and to train individuals in a comprehensive online ethics certification program leading to the professional designation “certified applied ethicist” or CAE. “The certification program is tough, rigorous, and compresses a years worth of work into 10 weeks via a specially designed total immersion training program”, states Oliver. “It is taught by experts and if a candidate successfully navigates this program, they will know,” she goes on, “ that they are Certified Applied Ethicists.”

“There is no question a growing need for certified ethics professionals exists”, states Oliver. “Unfortunately, many who are enlisted to teach or act as ethicists or diversity officers within organizations today are truly not qualified”. She points out that certified graduates will be capable of delivering training in their own workplace or in their community and have the added expertise to deliver CEFE's proprietary 'Four Point' Community Character & Ethics Professional Development Program, if they so desire. The “Four Point” program notes Oliver was developed from a grant provided to CEFE through the offices of New Mexico's US Senator Pete Domenici, a long time advocate of character and ethics development programs.

The Institute's genesis, according to Oliver came from CEFE founder, Professor Fred DiUlus, who is also the CEO of CEFE's corporate sponsor, Global Academy Online, Inc. According to Oliver, CEFE and the Institute emerged from DiUlus' doctoral research in applied ethics while he was attending the Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio.

“It is our hope”, Professor DiUlus notes “that Institute members will volunteer their time, talent, and even treasure, if need be, in their workplace and in their community as opportunity arises to teach, demonstrate, counsel and/or train others in applied ethics.”

Applicants for the certification program must be at least a high school graduate, have been employed full time for at least 3 years and have a strong, if not overwhelming desire to train and teach others character development and ethics. Membership and certification training applications can be made directly on the Applied Ethics Institute website located at www.AppliedEthics.info.