University Ethics

James F. Keenan, SJ, holds the Canisius Chair at Boston College and is director of the Jesuit Institute. He is the author or editor of sixteen books, including Moral Wisdom: Lessons and Texts from the Catholic Tradition and Ethics of the Word: Voices in the Catholic Church Today.

Keenan, who has written/edited some 16 books on theology and ethics, claims that the absence of an institutional ethical culture facilitates aberrant behaviors in US higher education. Universities offer courses in ethics but not in ethics as related to higher education institutions. Keenan considers ethical concerns with contingent versus tenure-line faculty; marginalization of university students and employees; dishonesty on the parts of students, faculty, and administrators; undergraduate carousing practices and violence; male-female inequities; disinterest in (or insensitivity to) differences; and the situation of international students. He points out that institutional levels are responsible for specific aspects of university life; accordingly, faculty, staff, students, and administrators remain unaware of one another’s struggles. And he argues that a prevailing culture of consumerism and consumption is largely responsible for condoning, even promoting, unethical behaviors. Keenan concludes with a call for collaboration among all involved with higher education to actively advance ethical behavior in their institutions. Providing just enough historical context, Keenan uses a narrative reporting style, interweaving research and relevant literature, scholarship, and media reports to develop his story and support his assertions. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels.

• 1: The Absence of Ethics at American Universities2: EthicsToward a History of University Ethics3: The Adjunct Faculty4: The Cultural Landscape of the University without Ethics5: Cheating6: Undergraduates Behaving Badly7: Gender8: Diversity and Race9: Commodification A Conclusion: Class, Athletics, and Other University Matters