Noted Lincoln Scholar to Give Hodges Lecture Commemorating Emancipation's 150th Anniversary

Richard Carwardine, president of Corpus Christi College at the University of Oxford, will speak February 19 on the topic, "Abraham Lincoln and the Challenge of Emancipation."  A noted historian and author of an award-winning biography of Lincoln, Dr. Carwardine will discuss the continuing significance of the Emancipation Proclamation, issued by Lincoln 150 years ago.

The 10 a.m. lecture in Reid Chapel is the Mann Center's 2013 A. Gerow Hodges Lecture in Ethics and Leadership.

An evening event on Monday, February 18, will feature Dr. Carwardine in a panel discussion of how the issue of slavery divided the Christian community between the nation's founding and the Civil War.  He is researching a new book on the influence of religion on American culture during these formative decades.  The panel will also include three Samford faculty members Dr. Joe Scrivner, Dr. John Mayfield, and Dr. Jason Wallace.  This 6 p.m. program in Bolding Studio will be preceded by a reception and exhibit of artifacts from the period, provided by Samford University's archivist. 

The Christian community was still deeply divided over race 100 years later, when in 1963 the struggle for African-American civil rights reached a crescendo in Birmingham, Alabama.  The February programs are part of a series of events in 2013 marking the 50th anniversary of the most violent year in this city's history.

Click here to register online for these programs.
Click here to read a New York Times review of Dr. Carwardine's book on Lincoln.

Mann Center Emphasizes Faculty Role in the Moral Development of College Students

Neuroscience research is yielding new insights into the development of young adults, showing that the college years may be prime time to acquire competencies in ethical recognition, reasoning and action.  As the prefrontal cortex matures in the later stages of brain development, it becomes possible to engage in more complex reasoning; to take into account the wider and longer-term consequences of actions; and to deal more competently with ambiguous or conflicting moral claims.

This phenomenon is among many topics explored in the Mann Center’s workshop, “The Moral Development of College Students.”  Offered most recently to the faculty of the Ida V. Moffett School of Nursing, the seminar encourages members of faculty to think in new ways about their roles in fostering student character and ethical competencies.

The Mann Center has identified three characteristics that should be recognizable in all Samford University graduates:

• Competent in ethical recognition, reasoning and action.
• Committed to lifelong development of virtuous character and spiritual maturity.
• Prepared for moral agency in navigating the increasingly complex social and ethical demands of life in families, organizations, professions, and society.

“Minimally, students must learn the compliance requirements in various fields of practice – professionally and by code examples,” said Mann Center Director John C. Knapp.  “Ideally, they should learn to employ moral judgment to adjudicate between competing claims, obligations and values.”

The workshop covers formal and informal influences on moral development, showing how each member of the faculty can play a crucial role in this process. “College life can and does affect moral development – for better or for worse,” said Dr. Knapp.  “We must recognize that many students are questioning the values and beliefs of their upbringing as they formulate their own moral identities.  In the midst of this developmental journey, they are making important life decisions with moral implications.  We must be intentional about equipping them to navigate life's challenges.”

Ethics Resources and Research

Only one-third of Americans aged 18 to 34 believe the U.S. system of government is either the best or above average among nations, according to a survey this month by the Gallup Organization.  Younger adults are also less likely to think U.S. healthcare or economic systems are better than those of most other modern, industrialized countries.  Respondents of all ages give high ratings to U.S.  individual freedoms, quality of life and opportunity to get ahead.

A CDC study finds that binge drinking among females is most prevalent among 18- to 24-year olds.  The study has implications for colleges and universities, as well as high schools, where rates of  binge drinking (four or more drinks on an occasion in the last 30 days) also are alarmingly high.

A year-end report from the Pew Research Center highlights key trends in American attitudes and beliefs.  Among these are changing views of same-sex marriage, global climate change, and women's career goals, as well as demographic shifts related to migration and birth rate.

The American Anthropological Association has adopted a new code of ethics.  The discipline of anthropology has debated ethical issues for many years, especially as questions have been raised about the roles of anthropologists in supporting the aims of colonial powers and, more recently, their work with the United States military.

The University of Pennsylvania's Perelman School of Medicine and its department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy have launched the Penn Neurodegenerative Disease Ethics and Policy Program to support research and education to "identify and address the ethical and policy implications of advances in the diagnosis and treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, and work toward forming best practices for how these advances can be successfully translated into clinical practice."