Promoting opportunities for ethical reflection and debate at Sacred Heart University since 1993
The Hersher Institute started in 1993 with a generous endowment from local businessman Kurt Hersher and named in memory of his father, the Hersher Institute for Applied Ethics promotes ethical reflection and education across the curriculum. Several of its programs are directed to the faculty, preparing them to incorporate ethical analysis more effectively into their courses. The Institute also promotes conversations around the campus about the pressing ethical issues of our time, all with the goal of helping Sacred Heart students develop a sound moral foundation to take into their careers and their communities.
The Hersher Institute sponsors a variety of programming to meet these goals. Its public forums featuring SHU faculty have addressed President Clinton's impeachment crisis, the ethics of world religions, and military intervention in the Balkans. The Institute has organized a number of faculty roundtable discussions. It has sponsored or cosponsored major speakers, such as HIV-specialist and author/essayist Abraham Verghese, MD; former boxer and prison reformer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter; and bioethicist Thomas Shannon.
To provide practical assistance in teaching ethics, the Hersher Institute sponsors stand-alone roundtable discussions and readings groups. The Institute has trained faculty to develop new courses or modules within courses that treat ethics. Under the Faculty Resources menu, faculty can locate “Ethics Modules” to adapt into their courses. Hence, SHU students are increasingly encountering moral issues and ethical reasoning across the curriculum.
For more information, please contact the Directors of the Hersher Institute: