Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics Celebrates Compliance and Ethics Champions during 7th Annual SCCE Compliance and Ethics Awards Dinner, September 12, 2011, The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, NV

MINNEAPOLIS, Sept. 12, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics (SCCE) today announced the four Compliance and Business Ethics champions being honored tonight during its 7th Annual SCCE Compliance and Ethics Awards ceremony, being held on September 12, 2011 from 7 to 10 PM in Las Vegas, NV at The Cosmopolitan..

This annual event takes place during the Compliance and Ethics Institute and recognizes organizations and individuals that exemplify professional integrity and strengthen the compliance and ethics profession. This year's Compliance & Ethics Institute is being held September 11-14, 2011 in Las Vegas, NV.  More than 800 compliance and ethics professionals have signed up for the Institute.

"As the profession is growing in importance and stature, it is fitting that tonight we honor those who are paving the way and setting a good example," said Odell Guyton, CCEP, Co-Chair of the SCCE Advisory Board, Director of Compliance for Microsoft Corporation.

Award Recipients

The recipients of the SCCE 7th Annual International Compliance and Ethics Award are:

• Transparency International, award to be accepted by Dr. Huguette LaBelle, Chair of the Board for Transparency International. Transparency International (TI) is known globally as the champion of anticorruption efforts. TI's mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption. Less well know, but important to the compliance and ethics profession is TI's promotion of compliance and ethics programs to fight bribery in the private sector.

• Widener University School of Law, award to be accepted by Dean Linda L. Ammon. Widener is being honored for its work in developing programs that promote the professions of compliance and ethics. Widener's Institute of Delaware Corporate and Business Law offers the only master's-level corporate program in the United States accredited by the Compliance Certification Board.  Additionally, Widener offers a compliance program through its master of jurisprudence in health law.

• Judge William "Billy" Wilkins is the former Chair of the United States Sentencing Commission. In this role, Judge Wilkins led the development of both the initial Federal sentencing guidelines for individual defendants and the first sentencing guidelines for organizations. It is due to the vision, leadership, and political courage of Chairman Wilkins that the organizational sentencing guidelines and their compliance program incentive features became a reality.

• Sheryl Vacca, SVP/Chief Compliance and Audit Officer at the University of California, Office of the President. Sheryl Vacca is receiving the award for long time, sustained contribution to the compliance and ethics profession. Sheryl has served as a faculty member of the SCCE ethics and compliance academies; she serves on the SCCE Advisory Board and the Health Care Compliance Association Board of Directors and is a nationally recognized speaker on all things compliance.

"Tonight we recognize the giants of our profession. We are grateful for the considerable contributions these organizations and individuals are making to help advance the compliance and ethics profession. Their work speaks for itself," said SCCE CEO Roy Snell.

Background on Compliance and Ethics Profession

Today "corporate compliance" and "business ethics," are familiar terms easily recognized by business executives world-wide. Although a relatively a new profession, this fast-growing profession is now found in almost every industry, in public and private companies, in nonprofit organizations and in colleges and universities. Corporate compliance and ethics professionals develop and oversee compliance and ethics programs to ensure that their organizations comply with state and federal regulations. To learn more about Corporate Compliance and Ethics: http://www.corporatecompliance.org//AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home

About The Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics

SCCE, headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, is dedicated to improving the quality of corporate governance, compliance and ethics. Its mission: SCCE exists to champion ethical practice and compliance standards in all organizations and to provide the necessary resources for compliance professionals and others who share these principles.

SCCE is located at 6500 Barrie Road, Suite 250, Minneapolis, MN 55435. Web site: http://www.corporatecompliance.org Tel: 888/277-4977

SOURCE Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics