The Western Michigan University Center for the Study of Ethics in Society creates interdisciplinary opportunities for the University and Community to engage in public reflection about ethical issues.
Fall 2024 events
The Ethics Center is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2024-25! We are happy to announce a special series of events on the theme of A Life Well Lived. Join us and our partners, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI at WMU) and the Kalamazoo Lyceum. RSVP and check out the entire list of events on our linktree. See Second Wave's news article about the series. We will be collecting toiletries and menstrual hygiene products for Essential Needs at all events. You can also make a cash donation.
Check out our regular lecture series. If you missed an event, visit our You Tube channel to catch up, or listen to our podcast, Life Is Better With Ethics.
Look for our book clubs in Spring 2025.
News
The Western Michigan University Ethics Bowl team, sponsored by the Ethics Center and the Philosophy Department, finished 2-2 in the regional qualifier Nov. 16 in Chicago. Learn more about this ethics competition.
The Ethics Center awarded six Shirley Bach Awards for the top student papers at the 2024 Midwestern Medical Humanities Conference. The award winners are: medical students Arturo Balaguer Townsend, Northwestern University, and Rosemarie Buryinski, Pennsylvania State College of Medicine; Ph.D. students Kathleen Lowenstein, Michigan State University, and Mallory Wietrzykowski, Saint Louis University; and undergraduates Bridgette Reeb, Allegheny College, and Nicole Wood, Eastern Michigan University. Congratulations!
Ethics Center advisory board member Kathy Purnell has been elected to the Kalamazoo Valley Community College Board of Trustees.
The Ethics Center co-sponsored a workshop on journalism ethics with the Public Communication Department of the Universidad de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain, in June. Participants focused on how journalism can orient itself to the common good to promote flourishing in political communities. Listen to a podcast with the keynote speaker.
A memorial fund has been set up for the Ethics Center's former associate director and co-founder, Dr. Shirley Bach.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT STATEMENT
We would like to recognize that Western Michigan University is located on lands historically occupied by Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodewadmi nations. Please take a moment to acknowledge and honor this ancestral land of the Three Fires Confederacy, the sacred lands of all indigenous peoples, and their continued presence.