A New Way of Teaching

The history of ethics in universities is one dating back to the 19th century. At the time the job was usually handled by the College president, who presented lectures on the proper morals of the day.

But as America became more diverse and relativistic in its outlook, this approach became untenable.

Meanwhile, some professional schools continued to teach ethics, but the subject was often downplayed in favor of the necessary professional training students needed to receive.

As time passed, and the country felt the impact of the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal, it became clear that ethics needed to be reincorporated into the curriculum.

In 1976, Bok wrote an article for Change magazine titled, "Can Ethics Be Taught?" which argued that ethical training was well within the mission of a University, and that the rote methods which had been used in the past were not the answer for leaders of the future.

"We started [the program] because there were major ethical issues in all of the professions, [and] there was no serious attention being paid to them at the time," Bok says.

Thompson, a political theorist who designed one of the country's first courses on ethics and public policy while teaching at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School, says that ethics are an integral part of all professions.

"Ethics is about being thoughtful and reflective," says Thompson. "When you are placed in a complex situation like a lawyer [is] you are bound to encounter difficulties you haven't thought of before."

At the undergraduate level, this commitment to ethical training has resulted in the revamping or creation of 44 courses, sponsored by a $1.5 million grant secured from the American Express Foundation in 1988.

The Economics of Ethics

Despite its 10-year history, the program still has trouble raising the money it needs to survive.

Currently, the operations of the program depend largely on funding from the professional schools, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) and the President's fund, according to Thompson.

"Even apart from the campaign we are certainly secure, but the long term of any program like this really does depend on securing independent funding," Thompson says.

Like its efforts for the other five inter-faculty initiatives, the University is seeking to raise $15 million as part of the University's capital campaign.