Institute for Ethics and the Common Good Hosts Launch Event
The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) held its official launch event on Monday, September 9, at Foley's in O'Neill Hall. The celebration provided an opportunity for ECG's University partners—faculty, staff, and students—to become better acquainted with the institute and its work. Formerly known as the Institute for Advanced Study, the transformed, expanded institute plays an essential role in advancing the University-wide Ethics Initiative emerging from Notre Dame 2033: A Strategic Framework.
Meghan Sullivan, Director of ECG and the Notre Dame Ethics Initiative, told attendees, "It is my greatest hope as director that the Institute for Ethics and the Common Good is going to be an engine for growing your dreams—a place where together we can build Notre Dame into the top destination for students and scholars and leaders who feel called to take on some of the most complex ethical issues of our time."
Sullivan outlined many of the ways in which ECG is investing in this effort: through grants and fellowships for scholars, both at Notre Dame and at universities around the world, who focus on ethical research and signature course development; support for Notre Dame doctoral students who study important ethical questions; and, working through the Ethics Initiative, support for University schools and departments in the process of hiring new faculty and launching new postdoc programs.
Leadership in ethics, Sullivan said, is deep in Notre Dame's DNA—and is desperately needed in a world confronting crisis after crisis.
"It's critical that the research that we do, the courses that we teach, and the programs that we build here at Notre Dame remind the world that there is a deep good out there that we can understand and we can help them to see."
University President Emeritus Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., was the event's guest speaker. The new Jenkins Center for Virtue Ethics, which honors his legacy, is a key component of ECG. The institute is also home to the Notre Dame—IBM Technology Ethics Lab.
"This effort will succeed if the people in this room put their arms around it in, in their own particular roles, with their own particular contributions, and move it forward," Fr. Jenkins said, underscoring Sullivan's comments about the collaborative and connective nature of the institute. "I believe this institute and the efforts of all of you will make this place a powerful center not only for the people here, but a distinctive voice—a powerful voice—in a world that really looks to us."
At the end of the evening, attendees received gifts of plants created by the Botany Shop, a locally owned business in South Bend's Near Northwest neighborhood. The blue planters brimming with pothos, philodendrons, and other hardy greens emphasized the metaphor of interconnected growth and flourishing.
---
The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) facilitates interdisciplinary research in foundational and applied ethics, coordinates projects that cross departments and units, and supports ethics-related education and public engagement efforts. ECG is a signature element of the Ethics Initiative, one of several University-wide strategic efforts that draw on expertise from multiple colleges, schools, centers, and institutes in order to make the most meaningful contributions to questions of national and international concern.
Originally published by ethics.nd.edu on September 10, 2024.
atLatest Research
- In Case You Missed It: Teaching in the Age of AI Faculty Panel…
- Folk Choir Premiers “Hope’s Song.” Discover a 14 year old fighting a disease only 50 worldwide have.Watch and listen Friday, October 11, 2024, at 12:45pm EDT, to the debut of this majestic new choral piece about not giving up. Hope Kern is the young girl who has battled through 35 surgeries since birth to fight Shprintzen-Goldberg, the devastating syndrome that attacks the Cranium, Abdomen, Skeletal…
- Investigative consultant Morganne Howell '16 centers empathy at September Sheedy DinnerBy: Lauren Engates '26 When a business is evaluating a candidate for a high-level hire, how could they minimize risk and ensure the candidate is a trustworthy, safe choice for the role? How could a multinational company use digital forensics to uncover hidden financial transactions…
- Finding Solutions: Meet Donovan LeivaQ. How did you become involved with the MCHC and how long have you been a member of the Coalition? "I have always had an interest in community engagement and healthcare so naturally I wanted to take on projects related to this field. I was assigned as the administrative…
- Notre Dame Dublin launches IBM Graduate Fellows research program for PhD studentsApplied and Computational…
- Force for GoodExcelling in Impact Patrick Turner, associate professor of economics, recently published a paper through MIT Opportunity Insights titled, High Schools Tailored To Adults Can Help Them Complete a Traditional Diploma and Excel in the Labor Market. The paper presents…