Ethics at the Heart of Higher Education - Paperback

by C. R. Crespo (Editor), Rita Kirk (Editor)

Today's college students have more knowledge available to them than can be absorbed; mastery of a subject area creates siloes where nearly every course is tailored to comprehending subject matter that may be outdated before they graduate. But learning is more than subject-matter expertise. Our fast-paced environment requires instantaneous reactions to complex questions. Our instant-messaging age champions quick response over reflection or thought--even the president governs by Twitter. Yet the ethical dilemmas are no less complex than the subject matter; cyber security, prison reform, labor rights, abortion, artificial intelligence, or gun laws are common table topics over lunch. Struggling through that complexity is central to understanding its implications for our culture. This book brings together some of the leading ethicists in the country to consider the rightful place of ethics in the university today. The authors make the case that higher education has a special duty to empower students to cultivate their character, ethically assess situations, and prepare them for an increasingly complex world.

Author Biography

C. R. Crespo is the associate director of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility and lecturer in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Southern Methodist University. She completed the Management Development Program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education Institute for Higher Education. Ms. Crespo focuses her work on higher education policy and administration.



Rita Kirk is the William F. May Endowed Director of the Maguire Center for Ethics and Public Responsibility and Altshuler Distinguished Professor in Corporate Communication & Public Affairs at Southern Methodist University. Her research focuses on the development and ethical targeting of public arguments, campaign communication, and a phenomenon that cannot be ignored in current discourse: hate speech.