The Roger Mudd Professor of Ethics

Washington and Lee University is seeking an outstanding teacher and a recognized scholar to serve as the first Roger Mudd Professor of Ethics and the first Director of the Roger Mudd Center for Ethics.

Roger Mudd, the distinguished journalist and author, graduated from Washington and Lee in 1950. He has recently provided the university with a generous endowment for the creation of a new center that will help to equip our students with the intellectual resources necessary for sound ethical deliberation. The Center will incorporate the activities of a long established program called “Society and the Professions.” This program, in existence since 1974, has sponsored speakers, symposia and institutes integrating the ethical dimensions of a liberal arts curriculum with professional and pre-professional education in business, journalism, law, medicine and environmental studies. The resources provided by Roger Mudd’s gift, together with the funds that support Society and the Professions, will create a dynamic campus organization able to enhance and expand ethical discourse and ethical education across the university.

Essential and Related Functions:

The Director of the Mudd Center for Ethics will teach a reduced teaching load and facilitate the enhancement and integration of ethics courses across the curriculum. The Director will have primary administrative responsibility for planning and executing curricular and co-curricular programs serving students, faculty and the broader Washington and Lee community. The first Director will play a critical role in establishing the academic focus of the center and providing it with a distinctive campus identity.

Minimum Qualifications:

The successful candidate will hold a Ph.D. or equivalent degree with credentials appropriate for a tenured appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor in one of the departments or schools at Washington and Lee. Administrative experience, and ideally experience with the organization and implementation of academic programming, will be a plus.

The Mudd Professor should possess competence in normative ethics together with a strong research track record in one or more aspects of public or professional ethics.

Department Information:

Washington and Lee is a private, liberal arts university with approximately 2200 students, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley in Lexington, Virginia. One of the nation’s top liberal arts colleges, W&L is unique in having accredited programs in business administration, journalism, and accounting, plus a graduate School of Law. Established in 1749, it is the ninth oldest institution of higher learning in the nation. To learn more, please visit www.wlu.edu. 

Contact(s):

Address questions about this position to: Robert A. Strong, Interim Provost, Washington and Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450 (email address below). A complete application would include a letter of interest, a vitae, names of potential references, and optional selected supporting material. For full consideration, please submit applications and documents before October 12, 2012 to this posting.