The membership on this committee was selected by the Faculty Development Committee from nominations submitted in response to an open invitation to all faculty members. These members were selected to provide wide-ranging expertise and multiple perspectives as they advise on the work of the Institute. Please contact any of these committee members if you have questions, comments or concerns.

Members:

1. Representing arts or humanities -- Martha Rainbolt , English, '10; Coordinator of Prindle Institute (chair)
2. Representing social sciences -- Darrell La Lone, Anthropology, '12
3. Representing natural sciences and math -- John Caraher, Physics and Astonomy, '12
4. Representing the philosophy department (two members)-- Marcia McKelligan, '10
5. and Jennifer Everett, '12 (one semester replacement fall '09 by Jeremy Anderson)
6.  At-large member -- Jason Fuller, Religious Studies, '11
7.  At-large member-- Cynthia O'Dell, Studio Art, '11
8.  At-large member-- Sheryl Tremblay, Communication and Theatre, '10
9. Representing the Committee for Academic Policy and Planning -- Bruce Sanders, Librarian, '10 (awaiting confirmation by CAPP)
10. Representing the Hartman House and Compton Center for Peace
and Justice -- Sarah Ryan
11. Assistant Director of Prindle Institute -- Linda Clute
12. Director of Prindle Institute -- Robert Bottoms
13. Student Intern -- Hallie Moberg
14. Frederick Visiting Professor of Ethics -- Richard Lippke
15. Schaenen Scholar -- Julie Hollowell
16. Pulliam Visiting Professor -- Robert Steele
17. Dean of the Faculty -- Kerry Pannell

The term of membership for this committee includes the 2009-10 academic year. It serves as a sub-committee of the Faculty Development Committee and reports to the Committee on Academic Policy and Planning on curricular matters. The committee is composed of 17 persons and chaired by Martha Rainbolt.

Meeting Calendar:

During the 2009-10 academic year, the Advisory Committee will meet on the first and third Wednesdays of the month from 4:15 until 5:30 p.m. The committee will convene at the Prindle Institute. Other meetings of the full committee or subcommittees will be scheduled as needed.

Statements of interest, submitted by faculty members, as part of the nomination process:

Darrell La Lone, Professor of Anthropology

My work as a biocultural anthropologist explores deep evolutionary roots for ethical values commonly assumed to derive from religious beliefs. And, as a cultural anthropologist as well, I have had many years of exploration of ethical practices and meanings from a cross-cultural perspective. Although many cultural anthropologists are inclined to claim that ethics should be seen as yet another cultural construct, as a biocultural anthropologist I argue that ethics is not mere convention but also deeply rooted in what we are as living beings.

My sabbatical work centered on advancing biocultural approaches to understanding human behavior. I have been working with the pre-eminent evolutionary biologist David Sloan Wilson at Binghamton University. One of David's most important books, Darwin's Cathedral, explores roots of religious thought. Another especially important book, Unto Others, explores the foundations of co-operation and compassion. Within this research approach, my own topic, in broadest terms, explores the evolutionary foundations of morality, ethics, fairness, and justice.

John Caraher, Assistant Professor of Physics and Astronomy

I have a particular interest in two kinds of intersections of ethics and the sciences. One is how to encourage the responsible conduct of research, a topic that has attracted growing attention from government research funding agencies in recent years. DePauw may respond to this attention with the "checklist mentality" and put in place mechanisms that satisfy minimum requirements stipulated by funding agencies, or it can look deeper and explore best practices for educating a truly ethical next generation of scientists. My hope is that, with the help of the Prindle Institute, we will strive for the latter. The other ethics/science intersection I'm interested in is the ways in which the physical conditions of our lives on Earth set the boundaries of ethical behavior. Some acts which might be judged ethical and even laudable in an ecosystem mostly immune to human influence might be judged profoundly unethical when they turn out to have implications for the survival of individuals, animal and plant species, and entire human cultures. While it is certainly possible to construct theories of environmental ethics on the basis of traditional ethical theories, it's far from clear to me that it's the best way of formulating ethical responses to global environmental crises. The laws of thermodynamics may not form the foundations of ethical reasoning, but their implications certainly inform the likely outcomes of a wide range of actions and cannot be ignored in favor of abstract moral dogmas if the morality of an act depends in any important way on its consequences.

Marcia McKelligan, Professor of Philosophy

I have wide-ranging interests in ethics and a great deal of professional experience in the field. I have been teaching ethics courses at DePauw since 1977, including Ethical Theory, Ethics and Business, Leadership and Responsibility, and Moral Controversies. I am in the process of developing a course in biomedical ethics. I have done reviewing of texts in ethics and have published one book review on a collection of essays in ethics. I have been a member of the Association of Practical and Professional Ethics for many years and serve in some capacity (break-out leader, session chair) at their annual conference every year. I co-coach DePauw’s ethics bowl team. I am excited about exploring the ways in which the work of the Prindle Institute can contribute to the moral development of DePauw students.

Jen Everett, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

I have a broad background in ethics. I studied at University of Colorado Boulder for my PhD, concentrating my coursework in ethics, environmental ethics, and social philosophy, and was an affiliate of the Center for Values and Social Policy. In addition to meta-ethical and normative ethical theory, my research thus included a focus on various practical public controversies - e.g., affirmative action, welfare policy, reproductive rights, population policy, gay marriage, prostitution, environmental law, etc. Since graduating, my primary teaching responsibilities have included Ethics, Environmental Ethics, and Feminist Philosophy. My published research has mostly involved ethical issues involving nonhuman animals, but I have more recently begun to focus on the ethical responsibilities of higher education with respect to the sustainability of human civilization on the planet. This issue, of course, greatly overlaps with my professional service and teaching responsibilities. It has made me a passionate advocate of education for moral and civic responsibility, of service learning and experiential learning pedagogies, and of interdisciplinarity.

Jeremy Anderson, Assistant Professor of Philosophy

My interest in serving on the Prindle Institute's Faculty Advisory Committee arises from a long history of involvement in ethics. I have extensive training and teaching experience in the area. The training includes graduate coursework in ethics, meta-ethics, and political philosophy. A large proportion of my teaching experience includes courses in ethical theory, applied ethics courses discussing contentious moral issues such as abortion, the death penalty, and our treatment of animals, courses discussing our obligation to obey the law and the moral foundations of the state, and courses focusing on ethics issues arising from war and terrorism. In teaching I seek to confront my students with the complexity and difficulty of real-world decision making while training them in the critical evaluation of ethical stances. My professional and university service include ethics also; at conferences I regularly chair sessions discussing issues in ethics and comment on papers in moral and political theory; here at DePauw I volunteer to serve on University Review Board hearings deciding academic integrity cases.

Jason Fuller, Assistant Professor of Religious Studies

I have extensive training and experience in non-western modes of thought and practice. More importantly, I have been teaching between three and five classes a year dealing with interdisciplinary and international issues in the study of Asian peoples and cultures. And most importantly, I served on the Ethics Committee in its early stages as the Institute was being formed. I am committed to both the Prindle Institute's mission as well as the field of cross-cultural ethics.

Cynthia O'Dell , Associate Professor of Art

My interests in the area of ethics in my field relate specifically to the elements of documentary photographic practice and artistic processes of activism that tell the story of the "other." In my work I am always questioning the authenticity of voice and I explore the historical and contemporary issues that deal with injustice, stereotypes, class, and gender. My works do not seek to answer problems, but instead pose questions to probe ethical dilemmas as well as power struggles.

Sheryl Tremblay, Associate Professor of Communication and Theatre

I teach ethics as part of my focus on free expression and free press in my media courses, which include: upper level media courses, such as Media Law and International Media; the Media Fellows Honors Course for first year students; and the introductory media course, Media, Society, and Culture. I examine the First Amendment from a traditional Libertarian viewpoint. The First Amendment is a personal freedom and the key to an open society where no official orthodoxy should be established. As a member of the Department of Communication and Theatre with training in media studies and rhetoric, my goal is to provide students with strategies for effective participation in civic life. I teach media studies in a way that prepares students for life-long participation as productive and engaged citizens. I strive to create a climate where different opinions are given voice and consideration.

Bruce Sanders, Librarian WRO Associate Professor

My interest in being on this committee is based on the belief that the library and librarians will need to play a role in facilitating the teaching of ethics on campus. Librarians are well-schooled in the ethical issues surrounding privacy rights, copyright, and censorship, and we are often involved in ferreting out plagiarism on campus. The library will also need to be aware of curricular issues as they pertain to collection development. To that end, with a master’s degree in philosophy (though admittedly my coursework did not have an ethics emphasis), I may be the librarian best qualified to sit on the committee and look for ways the library can help in the process.