Kenan Institute for Ethics
The Kenan Institute for Ethics is an interdisciplinary home for faculty, students, and staff dedicated to understanding and negotiating the moral challenges of our time through the energetic and capacious pursuit of good.
Good judgment, good character, good citizens, good government, the greatest good, the common good… We speak often of good, but in the absence of agreement about what we mean when we deploy the word. Good pursuits are passionate arguments about what it means to be human—about who we are, what we are doing, and what we ought to do.
Read more about good pursuits in this letter from our director, and explore stories about our programs below.
Good Life
Offering transformational educational experiences to students, alumni, and the public
An Inspiring Gift to Help Students Grow
The Kenan Institute for Ethics has received a major gift from Danielle Moore T’85 and the Mary Alice Fortin Foundation to support the institute’s educational initiatives for undergraduate students.
Teaching Engineering Students to Navigate the “Gray”: Robotics Course Focuses on Ethical Decision-Making
As part of Character Forward, a program of The Purpose Project at Duke that seeks to incorporate ethics into the engineering curriculum, Siobhan Oca teaches students to consider the ethical dilemmas they’ll face as engineers.
Good Community
Building bridges from classroom and campus to local and regional communities
First-Year Students Reflect on Benefits of Kenan-Affiliated FOCUS Programs
In a recent article in The Chronicle, Duke's student-run news organization, first-year students said that two Kenan-affiliated FOCUS clusters provided “hands-on learning” opportunities and a sense of “community” during their first semester at Duke.
Designing Healthcare Solutions with DukeEngage Uganda
Through DukeEngage Uganda, biomedical engineering students from Duke University and Makerere University collaborate on healthcare solutions. The students design prototypes of medical devices to meet the needs of local hospitals, using only low-cost materials that are available in Uganda.
Good Society
Assessing and imagining institutions that meet the needs of our common life
How Split-Second Decisions Lead to Gun Violence — and How We Can Stop It
Gun violence is a complex problem, but University of Chicago professor and Duke Graduate School alum Jens Ludwig says that his research points to some effective interventions.
Photography Exhibit Explores “Coexistence” between Humans and Elephants in Thailand
An exhibit of photography by Chelsea Decaminada Memorial Fellow Dhruv Rungta depicts the fraught relationship between Thai pineapple farmers and the elephants who devour their crops.
