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
How Visiting an Art Museum Can Help Students Become More Patient Healthcare Providers
A group of pre-health students in the Re-Imagining Medicine program visited the North Carolina Museum of Art. During their visit, they learned important lessons about how to engage with patients — not simply as diseases to treat, but as people with years of lived experiences.
Teaching on Purpose Alum Wins Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching
Claire Rostov, a Ph.D. student in Religious Studies, was recently awarded the 2026 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching by Duke Graduate School. Rostov says her approach to teaching undergraduates was shaped by her experience in Teaching on Purpose, a fellowship program of The Purpose Project at Duke.
Good Community
Building bridges from classroom and campus to local and regional communities
This Summer, Follow Our DukeEngage Social Media Ambassadors
Through DukeEngage, a program of the Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke undergraduate students spend eight weeks working with community partners in the United States or around the world. This summer, we have launched a social media ambassador program, so you can follow along with our students as they experience DukeEngage!
Good Pursuits with Mike Wiley
From state to state and school to school, actor and playwright Mike Wiley uses the power of performance to bring challenging histories to life. In this Good Pursuits feature, he reflects on how theater can spark empathy by inviting audiences to walk in someone else’s shoes.
Good Society
Assessing and imagining institutions that meet the needs of our common life
From Duke to Tribeca: Four Questions with “Scene on Radio” Host John Biewen
John Biewen is the host and producer of the podcast "Scene on Radio," an official selection of this year's Tribeca Festival. He tells us how he ended up working and teaching at Duke, how he developed a podcast that takes deep dives into big issues, and why he’s happy to be at the Kenan Institute for Ethics.
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.
