On Friday, Nov. 8, the Ethics Department hosted a celebration in honor of its 25th anniversary. During the event, many of the people who created the program in 1999 came back and were honored by the current faculty. The event featured a lecture entitled, “Moral Complexity and the Good Life,” which was followed by a reception.
The lecture was given by Dr. Darlene Weaver, who is a provost from the University of Dayton, and used to be a professor in the Theology and Religious Studies Department for many years. The lecture gave deep insight and clarity for students who are currently pursuing an ethics minor.
“It was very interesting to hear about her perspective on the good life,” senior Natalia Garcia Luna said. “Her references and perspectives allowed me to tie in a lot of the lessons I’ve learned throughout my ethics classes.”
Professor Mark Doorley, who is the current head of the Ethics program, shared more about the lecture.
“The talk centered on the messiness of living a good life, and the resources within Catholic intellectual tradition that can help us navigate that messiness,” Doorley said. “A key dimension she highlighted is that we live in a community of persons with diverse views about the good life, and this can lead to tension. She lifted up to virtues that she thinks are necessary to develop to live a good life in this world.”
During the celebration, there were many statistics presented that showed the success of the program. For example, 174 students have earned a minor or concentration in ethics since 1999. Additionally, around 42,000 students have taken ETH 2050 since the start of the ethics program.
“ [Dr. Darlene Weaver] taught ETH 2050 regularly,” Doorley said. “This course is the reason the Ethics Program came into existence. It is part of the core curriculum, required of all CLAS and VSB students, which is the majority of Villanova undergraduates.”
Afterward, there was dinner served in the Villanova Room in the Connelly Center. The students who went to the lecture sat with several professors who have taught at the school in the past. The students all spoke with them about their involvement within the ethics program.
“Most of the students in my table were of different majors so it was cool to hear how they thought ethics could help them post grad,” Garcia Luna said. “The professors gave us great advice on how these studies could help us academically and in our personal lives. It was great to have those conversations with them.”
The event also concluded by honoring more of those who have made the program what it is today.
“Ninety of us adjourned to the Villanova Room for dinner,” Doorley said. ”It was wonderful. At that time, we honored Dean Adele Lindenmeyr for her constant support of the ethics program.”
The next day, on Saturday, eight faculty members gathered at the Radnor Inn with four past fellows to further collaborate on how to make the program even stronger.
“We came up with great ideas that I intend to pursue,” Doorley said.
Overall, the event highlighted important voices within the field of ethics at Villanova University, as well as celebrated the flourishing ethics program on its 25th anniversary.
