Ethics at the Heart of Higher Education

“Many, many years ago the presidents of the Ivies taught one course each year, the undergraduate’s ethics course; such was the university’s commitment for ethics to be in the heart of every university student. Rightly Kirk and Crespo and their colleagues remind us that the academy exists not just for its members, but for all. After years of marketing the university primarily for the sake of one’s own advancement, this collection helps us to restore the very goal of the academy’s mission. Hats off.”


—James F. Keenan, SJ, Boston College




“Today, as politicians regularly tweet false information and the world faces a global pandemic that highlights both public health and public morality, this edited book from Crespo and Kirk (both, Southern Methodist Univ.) is a timely look into how institutions of higher education have developed and changed methods for teaching ethics over time. It also conveys the contributors' belief that these institutions have a moral obligation to educate students in ethics as well as in their major disciplines. Authored by leading ethicists in the field, the essays in this collection discuss how ethics is taught at universities and what role it plays in general curricula. Contributors argue that institutions of higher education have a duty to equip graduates with an ethical toolbox needed in every field. Chapters include discussions on teaching ethics in secular versus religious institutions and ethics instruction in professional university programs such as law and medicine. More broadly, the book looks at ethics through the very blurry intersection of ethics, politics, and education.”



--G. Colosi, Syracuse University