What an honor it is to be the new executive director of the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics! I feel that we live in a world where making good, ethical decisions seems to be a rarity, so the work the Center does is crucial.
In the 10 years I spent as a journalist, I was involved with ethical decisions every day. As a teacher, I have included ethics as a large part of every course I’ve taught. I helped found the Center for Digital Ethics at Loyola University in Chicago, where I also served as associate provost for strategy & innovation and dean of the School of Communication. This job seems like a natural progression—a natural next step.
I take the role very seriously and plan to do all I can to assist a great staff in their important work on ethics issues. We intend to raise the visibility of the Center so more people can join us in thinking about ethics and learning how to make sound, ethical decisions. I look forward to meeting many of you in coming weeks and months, and will be asking you to think about ways you might help us as we take our next steps as a center.
Don Heider