Cancelled – Ethical Issues in Higher Education Research Workshop

DePauw University has cancelled all guest speaker events and programming for the spring and summer of 2020 because of concerns about the virus that causes COVID-19. Unfortunately, this means the Ethical Issues in Higher Education Workshop has been cancelled as well. Please contact Jessica Mejía (jessicamejia@depauw.edu) or Patti Stauffer (stauffer@appe-ethics.org) with any questions about the cancellation.

The following information is being retained on the page for informational and archival purposes only. It is no longer accurate.

The system of private- and publicly-supported higher education in the United States has long enjoyed a position of prestige and influence.  As creators and conveyors of knowledge, university professors have been regarded with respect and admiration; obtaining a university degree has been an aspiration of generations of Americans.  The college years, especially in residential institutions, have been seen as a privileged time for young people to grow and develop intellectually and socially, often in an idyllic setting free from many of the stresses of life outside the institution. Many might say that little of that has changed. Recently, however, the American system has come under close scrutiny and harsh criticism by the government, the public, and members of university communities themselves. The purpose and value – both for students and the public at large – of a college education are questioned. Calls for reform of university policies – on admission, hiring, pedagogy, student life, and so on – grow more insistent as conventional ways of doing things are denounced as exclusionary or biased. At the same time, some critics see current university practices as endangering important educational and social norms and call for a return to more traditional practices or at least a deceleration of change. Reformers and traditionalists alike worry about the spiraling costs of a college education in the U.S., which makes higher education inaccessible to many at the same time that a college degree, rightly or not, is a necessary credential for an entry-level job.

Workshop directors Marcia McKelligan (Professor of Philosophy, DePauw University) and Jessica Mejía (Nancy Schaenen Visiting Scholar, Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics) invite scholars to submit an application to participate in this retreat.

This workshop aims to bring together scholars who are interested in contributing to debates about pressing ethical questions concerning higher education in ways that are thoughtful and rigorous but also engaging and accessible to non-academics.  Possible paper topics include, but certainly are not limited to, free speech, campus protest, issues pertaining to inclusion and diversity efforts, campus climate, admission policies, student debt, tenure, teaching for social justice. Workshop participants may be invited to submit their papers for possible publication in an anthology on ethics in the academy.

Submission deadline: March 30, 2020

Submit your workshop paper via this form. If the form is not working, please contact Patti Stauffer (stauffer@appe-ethics.org).

Your submission must include:

-Abstract of workshop paper (50-100 words max)

-Workshop paper (3,000 – 4,000 words max) – MS WORD or PDF

The deadline to apply is March 30, 2020. Selected participants will be notified of acceptance by mid-April, 2020. 

Workshop Information:

Each participant will workshop a paper and essays will be read in advance by all participants. During the morning sessions, the author of the workshop paper will give a 5-minute summary of the paper. Next, the attendees will take turns asking questions, raising objections, or generally offering feedback yielding about a 45-minute discussion. Each session will last approximately 50-minutes total. Workshop participants will be provided with free time in the afternoon and space to write at The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics and The Association for Practical and Professional Ethics will cover the cost of travel and provide meals and accommodation for workshop participants. Accommodations will be on-campus housing at DePauw University: private rooms with shared living space. 

Programming will run from June 3 – 6, 2020. If you have questions about the workshop, please contact Marcia McKelligan (mamck@depauw.edu) or Jessica Mejía (jessicamejia@depauw.edu). For administrative or travel arrangement information, please contact Patti Stauffer (stauffer@appe-ethics.org).