Baylor Ethics Initiative, Year in Review 2024
Toward Baylor in Deeds
The Baylor Ethics Initiative emerged as a small faculty-driven initiative in response to Illuminate, the academic Strategic Plan adopted by Baylor in 2018. Specifically, the Ethics Initiative sought to exemplify the commitment to ground-breaking research in the pursuit of health, human dignity, justice, and flourishing.
Since then, the Initiative has grown into a vibrant academic community with 44 faculty and graduate student affiliates. Because their primary appointments are in departments and schools across the university, the faculty and students affiliated with the Ethics Initiative bring a wide range of specializations to the Initiative that enrich and extend well beyond our four research clusters in Bioethics, AI/Data Ethics, Global Ethics, and Ethics in Leadership.
As we look back at 2024, it is clear that the Ethics Initiative has also been laying a foundation for Baylor in Deeds, the new Baylor University Strategic Plan: “Our faculty and students are committed to solving persistent challenges in health, to addressing the many issues emerging at the human-technology interface, to building bridges across geographic, economic, political, and religious difference, and to strengthening our expertise on issues at the intersection of Christianity and society.”
The following pages briefly introduce many of the people and activities of the Ethics Initiative, yet there are several people that deserve special mention in this context. First, Teah Byford, the Administrative Associate for the Ethics Initiative, has become invaluable since joining us this past summer. Additionally, the conveners of the research groups—Devan Stahl (bioethics), Neil Messer and Pablo Rivas (AI/Data Ethics), and Elise Edwards and Marlene Neill (Ethics in Leadership)—have been the key drivers of the Initiative.
As we move into 2025 and beyond, we are grateful to the many departments and schools at Baylor that have contributed to the success of the Ethics Initiative—all are invited to join us as we seek to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world. You can follow us on social media, collaborate with us, or support the work of the Initiative as we seek to live thoughtfully and generously in the many places where global Baylor meets our diverse and complex world.
Paul Martens
Associate Professor of Ethics, Department of Religion
Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Acting Director, Baylor Ethics Initiative
Undergraduate Leadership
Ethical literacy and undergraduate opportunities for leadership in ethics have become significant priorities within the Ethics Initiative. To that end, the bioethics faculty have created an Undergraduate Bioethics Certificate. Thirty-two students graduated with a Bioethics Certificate in 2024. Further, our undergraduate students have excelled in Ethics Bowl Competitions on the national stage, demonstrating ethical leadership here on campus and across the country.
Earlier this year, The Ethics Society, a new student organization launched with the purpose of creating a community that supports undergraduate participation in national ethics competitions. And, guided by Anne Jeffrey, Associate Professor of Philosophy, Baylor University hosted the National Bioethics Bowl for the first time in Spring 2024. Nineteen teams from across the country—from Stanford to Georgetown—travelled to Baylor to debate complex bioethics cases.
Reflecting on her experience, undergraduate Hannah Yi commented: “Participating in the Bioethics Bowl at Baylor was a truly amazing experience, and I really enjoyed working alongside my peers to tackle complex ethical dilemmas. Even the preparation process where we collaborate on ideas allowed me to see different perspectives and refine my critical thinking skills.”
In the Fall, a Baylor team also participated in the Regional Competition Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl for the first time. Placing 3rd, the Baylor team qualified for the National Competition. They plan to travel to Norfolk, Virginia in February for Nationals, where they will compete against teams from 36 universities for the National Championship.
Global Partnerships
The Baylor Ethics Initiative has been Pro Mundo since its inception, and 2024 provided several key opportunities to expand research and capacity-building partnerships around the globe that are focused on some of the greatest challenges of our time. While many of our individual faculty are also working with international collaborators, the institutional partnerships highlighted below continue to elevate Baylor’s role in addressing some of the most pressing challenges of our time.
In July, the Baylor Ethics Initiative partnered with the International Center for Law and Religion Studies at BYU Law and Gadjah Mada University, to host the third annual workshop on Human Dignity at Christ Church, Oxford. The theme of the 2024 workshop was “AI, Human Dignity, and Religion: Perspectives on Freedoms, Responsibilities, and Opportunities.” Baylor participants Devan Stahl, Neil Messer, and Paul Martens joined an international and interreligious group of scholars, industry experts, and policy makers to highlight the importance of human dignity in the midst of the current AI revolution. Further, papers developed through the workshop will be published later this year in a special edition of The Review of Faith and International Affairs.
In September, the Ethics Initiative joined the 20th Annual Global Ethics Forum in Geneva as a Knowledge Partner. Hosted by Globethics, an international non-governmental organization in consultative status with the UN, the Global Ethics Forum brought together experts from around the world to cultivate ethical leadership across sectors and disciplines. Building on an Initiative emphasis, Paul Martens moderated an international panel focused on AI for Peace and Human Rights.
Finally, in November, the Ethics Initiative joined a group of global partners in co-sponsoring the Faith Pavilion at the UN-Habitat World Urban Forum in Cairo, Egypt. Demonstrating their expertise at the intersection of Christianity and society on a global stage, Initiative affiliates Josh King, Professor of English, and Stephanie Boddie, Associate Professor of Church and Community Ministries, presented the exemplary work of Waco’s own Sustainable Community and Regenerative Agriculture Project(S.C.R.A.P.) Collective, a Waco/Baylor partnership that addresses food waste, food insecurity, and climate resilience.
Research Highlights
Research is the backbone of the Ethics Initiative. It is the scholarship that makes our faculty experts and thought leaders in their respective fields, and it is this expertise that serves as the foundation for our faculty's distinguished teaching and community engagement. The highlights provided below are a small window into the rich interdisciplinary research excellence of Baylor’s ethics faculty.
Marlene Neill, Associate Professor in the Department of Journalism, Public Relations and New Media, was named as a Senior Research Fellow at the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication at Pennsylvania State University. While Dr. Neill has been a prolific author for years, her article in The Journal of Public Relations Education entitled “Identifying and Addressing Gaps in Public Relations Ethics Education” was honored by the Arthur W. Page Center with the Top Ethics in PR Pedagogy Award.
Earlier this summer, Monique Ingalls, Associate Professor of Music, celebrated two significant achievements: (1) the publication of Black British Gospel Music: From the Windrush Generation to Black Lives Matter with co-authors Dulcie Dixon McKenzie and Pauline Muir; and (2) the launch of two collaborative online projects with the Nigerian Baptist Theological Seminary that includes an updated third edition of The Global Church Music Bibliography, including an interactive platform amplifying underrepresented voices in church music scholarship worldwide.
Neil Messer, Professor of Theological Bioethics, and Devan Stahl, Associate Professor of Bioethics and Religion, had the opportunity to present ongoing research at the International Academy of Bioethical Inquiry Symposium in Rochefort-du-Gard, France. Organized around the theme of Biophilosophy, the symposium provided an excellent forum for Drs. Messer and Stahl to address the integrity of all living things through the integration of theology, philosophy, biology, ecology, and anthropology.
Postdoctoral Researcher SeyedAmir Asghari was invited to speak at the Intellectual Synthesis and Separation: Exploring Sufism and Philosophy Conference, hosted by the Al-Madhi Institute in Birmingham, UK. Dr. Asghari's presentation, "Wisdom in the Quran and Islamic Intellectual Sufi Tradition," reflects his active involvement in interreligious discussions about human rights, human dignity, and natural law.
Victor Hinojosa, Associate Professor of Political Science in the Honors College, provided the keynote address— “Religion, Food Security, and Migration in the Americas: Implications for Policy and Research” —at the Migration and Food Needs: Latin American and U.S. Perspectives Symposium hosted at Baylor University in April. Dr. Hinojosa is also an excellent teacher, receiving an Outstanding Faculty Award for the 2023/2024 academic year. Congratulations Victor!
In the middle of a busy summer, Jenny Howell, Clinical Assistant Professor of Theology in the Honors College, and Matthew Whelan, Assistant Professor of Moral Theology in the Honors College, participated in a series of critical discussions on agroecology at Campion Hall, Oxford University. These discussions explored agriculture and land use through the lenses of Catholic theology and integral ecology, discussions that will become more important across campus in the coming years.
João Chaves. Assistant Professor of the History of Religion in the Americas, was invited to offer the 17th Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics at Howard Payne University: “Religion, Migration, and Transnationality: Past, Present, and Future.” These lectures grew out of a larger project—Transnational Theopolitics of Domination: The Brazilian/American Case—within the Baylor Institute for Oral History.
Celebrating a big year, Elise Edwards published her first monograph, Architecture, Theology, and Ethics: Making Architectural Design More Just. Additionally, she attended the 2024 International Black Theatre Festival in Winston-Salem, NC, serving as a panelist for a discussion on Heritage, a play exploring race, religion, and justice, by JuCoby Johson.
Continuing on the theme of keynote addresses, Anne Jeffrey, Associate Professor of Philosophy, offered the keynote at the 2024 Midwest Society of Christian Philosophers Conference on the theme of Empirically Grounded Religious Ethics. Further, her article, “Reappraisal as a Means to Self-Transcendence: Aquinas’ Model of Emotion Regulation Informs the Process Model,” was published in Philosophical Psychology.
Graduate Student Developments
Graduate students are the next generation of experts and thought leaders, yet they are already invaluable teachers, researchers, and mentors. Many of the graduate students working with the Ethics Initiative are producing excellent research while also coaching the National Ethics Bowl teams. We are thrilled to introduce a four of the Ethics Initiative Graduate Affiliates below:
Caitlin Maples, a graduate student in the Philosophy Department, has a forthcoming article in The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy entitled “Persons and their Brains: Life, Death, and Lessened Humanity.” She generously coached the 2024 National Bioethics Team and is preparing for a career in which she can teach philosophy and medical ethics at a university or medical school.
Wemimo Jaiyesimi, a graduate student in the Religion Department, has along-standing research and personal interest in Christian understandings of interreligious dialogue and mutual respect. Recently, he presented “The Politics of Interreligious Friendship: Remembering the Peaceable Witness of Charles Andrews Freer and Mahatma Gandhi's Friendship” at the 2024American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Diego.
Levi Durham, a graduate student in Philosophy has been exceptionally active in 2024, publishing “Should Clergy be Exempt from Mandatory Reporting Laws” in Public Affairs Quarterly and “The Role of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in the Ars Moriendi” in The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy. He also co-authored “How Infinitely Valuable could a Person Be? In Philosophia with Alex Pruss.
Finally, Daniel Crouch, a graduate student in Religion, has also been busy coaching the National Ethics Bowl teams. He recently presented two papers at the American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Diego entitled “Direct Communication and the Torment of Separateness” and “The Need for Moral Enhancement and the Possibility of ‘Going Off the Rails.’” Additionally, his article “Transhumanism within the Natural Law: Transforming Creation with Nature as Guide” was just published in Religions.
In Fall 2024, the Ethics Initiative launched a podcast called Bear Ethics Ink. This podcast is designed to informally introduce listeners to the groundbreaking research of Baylor faculty working in the field of ethics. Each short and accessible episode dives into a recent publication, offering thought-provoking discussions on ethical issues across disciplines, from philosophy and theology to architecture and medicine. You can check these out on Spotify and YouTube!
"We start to bring technology into reproductive practices, and people start asking: 'Why do we procreate?' and 'Why should we procreate?' so this is my attempt to answer those questions and to do so within the boundaries of Christian theology." - Matthew Anderson, Episode 3
"What I found really interesting about the thought of Francisco Suárez is that, when he thinks about law, he emphasizes the importance of legislators, judges, and the legal system as a whole. However, he also highlights the critical role of the community acting together—not only in putting those individuals in power but in actually shaping the substance of the law. Law, therefore, isn’t just something imposed on us from above; it is something we actively create and form through our communal actions. It is also developed from below—from the people and the broader political community." - Elisabeth Kincaid, Episode 4
2025 and Beyond
As we look to 2025, we are excited about the future growth of the Ethics Initiative. With an eye to the
Commitments, Imperatives, and Foundational Pillars of Baylor in Deeds, we expect significant interdisciplinary developments in line with the following ambitions:
- Increased graduate offerings in Bioethics.
- Substantial expansion of the AI and Data Ethics group.
- Additional global partnerships with Christian, non-governmental, and interreligious parties that support peace and human dignity.
- New research emphases in the areas of sustainability and civil political discourse.
- Expanded undergraduate curricular offerings in multiple areas.
- Collaboration on the cultivation of campus-wide ethical literacy with the Institute for Faith and
- Learning, the Academy for Teaching and Learning, and Student Life.
Several episodes of Bear Ethics Ink will drop in the spring semester, beginning with Malcolm Foley’s The Anti-Greed Gospel and Thomas Ward’s After Stoicism. Dr. Foley serves as the Special Advisor to the President for Equity and Campus Engagement and Dr. Ward is an Associate Professor of Philosophy specializing in the history of philosophy, especially medieval philosophy. Despite their very different areas of expertise, both authors attempt to draw upon history to illuminate and engage the challenge of ethical existence in our contemporary world.
In closing, perhaps it is sufficient to summarize our guiding principles for 2025 by appealing to the text of Baylor in Deeds: The work of a Christian research university must be informed, first and foremost, by its faith commitment. It is crucial that Baylor be recognized as a global expert on issues at the intersection of Christianity and society. As Christians, we are uniquely called to love God and neighbor, to be faithful and wise stewards of God’s creation, to care for the sick and wounded, to feed the hungry, and to stand up for and attend to the needs of “the least of these.” In doing so, Baylor has an opportunity to participate in God’s redemptive work in the world.