Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics (EXPIRED)

The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics at DePauw University

Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics

DePauw University, a selective, nationally-ranked, liberal arts college, is seeking an outstanding candidate for the position of Phyllis W. Nicholas Director of The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics to begin July 1, 2022. This is a full-time, 12-month administrative position reporting to the Vice President for Academic Affairs. The position may include teaching responsibilities of up to one course each semester depending on the successful candidate’s background. Salary will be commensurate with experience and credentials.

The Prindle Institute is one of the largest collegiate ethics institutes in the country, with a robust national outreach mission that serves DePauw students, faculty and staff, academics and scholars throughout the United States and in the international community, life-long learners, and the Greencastle community in a variety of ways. The Institute houses the offices of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and enjoys a close and mutually beneficial relationship with that organization. 

We seek a Director who will help us think creatively about the future direction of the Institute with regard to both its on-campus impact and its national engagement. The Institute’s endeavors should enhance the development and education of DePauw’s diverse student body, enrich the intellectual life of the University community, and expand the reach and reputation of the University nationally and internationally.

Required Education or Experience:

A terminal degree in Philosophy or a related field, or significant successful academic program management.

Administrative experience that would translate effectively to an undergraduate university.

A minimum of two years of significant successful program management and administrative experience.

Demonstrated success as a teacher or mentor of undergraduate students.

The successful candidate will demonstrate expertise in ethical reasoning and analysis, a passion for working with undergraduate students, exceptional leadership skills, and the potential for excellence with respect to the following responsibilities:

Directing the Prindle Institute and its programs, budget, and staff;

Assisting with the University's enrollment efforts, focusing on prospective students who are interested in ethics,

Hosting and facilitating academic and creative explorations of personal and professional ethics, through programming that embraces both the practical and the philosophical, with strong emphasis on the spirit of inquiry and on attracting faculty, staff and visitors with diverse perspectives and backgrounds to the Institute,

Recruiting and hosting distinguished scholars, artists and speakers to share their expertise and spark the moral imagination of the University community, including students, faculty and staff members, and alumni,

Supporting DePauw faculty members in their efforts to further incorporate ethics in their teaching and research,

Helping students shape projects and programs related to ethical issues,

Conducting comprehensive and continuing reviews of the programs and structure of the Prindle Institute with the aim of continually improving the effectiveness and reputation of the Institute’s activities,

Fostering at the Prindle Institute the values of free expression and diversity of viewpoint, both essential to our intellectual mission.

In addition, the successful candidate will support and enhance the team’s work on a host of ongoing successful initiatives of the Prindle Institute, which include:

Sponsoring internships at the Institute, which are open to DePauw students ranging from first-year to senior year,

Developing and publishing K-12 ethics curricula and programming,

Conducting ethical reasoning workshops for high schools across the country,

Hosting the statewide Indiana High School Ethics Bowl and national Summer Invitational Bowl,

Leading Teaching Children Philosophy, a national program aimed at primary school students,

Partnering with the American Youth Foundation,

Supporting the DePauw’s Ethics Bowl and Bioethics Bowl teams,

Maintaining the Prindle Institute’s media presence, including The Prindle Post, an online journal of ethics in the news, and Examining Ethics, a podcast featuring prominent scholars in the field of ethics,

Coordinating Prindle Reading Courses, quarter-credit, 8-week classes taught by DePauw faculty,

Selecting and mentoring recipients of five Ethics Scholarships for incoming students annually;

Overseeing and supporting DePauw’s Institutional Review Board, and

Maintaining close and productive relationships with the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics.

For further information about the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics and its programming, please visit our website https://www.prindleinstitute.org/