Center for Ethical Concerns Programs

The Center for Ethical Concerns sponsors and supports a range of programs designed to help students, faculty, and the community examine ethical issues facing society and improve their ability to address these issues.

The annual Ethics Case Study Competition provides students an opportunity to sharpen their analytical skills by exploring an ethical issue. A panel of faculty readers evaluates the student submissions. Cash prizes are awarded to the winners in both graduate and undergraduate divisions of competition.

A week-long Faculty Ethics Seminar is held each spring to help professors develop new ways to present ethical material in the classroom. Utilizing an interdisciplinary seminar format, the participants deepen their understanding of ethical principles and decision-making techniques. They then apply this knowledge to an ethical issue in their discipline and develop an effective way to present this material with the help of their peers and the seminar leaders. Participants who have completed the initial seminar are eligible to apply to take part in Phase II of the program, which provides an opportunity to delve more deeply into an ethical issue relevant to their field. They are also named Fellows of the Center and help plan other events, including Ethics Awareness Week. Faculty must apply to participate in the program. An application can be downloaded here.

The Marymount University Ethics Award recognizes individuals who have made an outstanding contribution to the pursuit and support of ethics in their fields. Recipients are publicly recognized and invited to speak about the importance they attach to fostering ethical value systems.

The Center co-sponsors a student team in the annual Virginia Foundation for Independent Colleges’ Ethics Bowl. Students from across Virginia compete in a debate format judged by panels of faculty and volunteer business leaders.