WMU News

Managing higher education, autonomy focus of ethics lectures

March 18, 1999

KALAMAZOO-- The ethical trials of managing higher education in today's market-driven economy and the question of individual autonomy will be addressed in two separate lectures at Western Michigan University during the last week of March.

Dr. Insoo Hyun, WMU associate professor of philosophy, will examine the connection between "Individual Autonomy and Authentic Values" at 7 p.m. Monday, March 29, in the Brown and Gold Room on the second floor of the Bernhard Center.

Hyun, a specialist in the areas of moral philosophy, biomedical ethics and political philosophy, argues that individuals are only autonomous when they possess and act on those authentic values which are values free of coercion, manipulation and constraint. A member of WMU's faculty since September 1998, Hyun earned and bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford University and a doctoral degree in philosophy from Brown University.

Dr. Timothy Light, WMU provost and vice president for academic affairs, will tackle the ticklish topic of "Provostrial Ethics and Other Oxymorons: Trying to Manage Higher Education in a Market Driven World" at 4 p.m. on Thursday, April 1, in Room 157 of the Bernhard Center.

Light was named to his current position at WMU in 1996. He is a former president of Middlebury College and a former provost of Kalamazoo College and has more than 38 years experience working in higher education. Light earned a bachelor's degree in English literature from Yale University, a bachelor of divinity degree from Union Theological Seminary, a master's degree in teaching English as a foreign language from Columbia University's Teachers College and a doctoral degree in linguistics from Cornell University.

Presented by the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society, both lectures are free and open to the public. For more information, contact the Center for the Study of Ethics in Society at (616) 387-4397.

Media contact: Marie Lee, 616 387-8400, marie.lee@wmich.edu


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