Prof. Steven Scalet Appointed Director of Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics
December 7, 2020
Contact: Office of Government and Public Affairs
Phone: 410.837.5739
Steven Scalet, professor in The University of Baltimore's Division of Legal, Ethical and Historical Studies, has been named director of the University’s Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics, following the retirement of long-time director Alfred Guy in Spring 2020 and a search for a new director. His appointment was announced by Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences Dean Christine S. Spencer.
"The need for the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics has never been greater and Professor Steven Scalet is the perfect person to lead the Center into the future," said Dean Spencer. "Steve's vision for the center will bring together multiple constituencies to broaden the impact of the Center across the region, and I am looking forward to seeing the outcomes of this important work."
Founded in 1987, the Hoffberger Center is part of a network of ethics-related centers worldwide that exist to ensure that the study of ethics and values retains an important place in higher education and throughout society. It is Maryland's only center dedicated to the subject of professional ethics.
"As the only one of its kind in the region, the Hoffberger Center is uniquely positioned to provide a forum for dialogue and discussion around issues of ethics, and to bring people together across the University, as well as within the Baltimore community," Prof. Scalet said.
The center—in coordination with the School of Public and International Affairs and the undergraduate program in Philosophy, Law, and Ethics—recently hosted its first event under Scalet's direction: an author-meets-critic virtual event designed to inspire ethics-related dialogue through debate and cross-disciplinary conversation. With well over 50 in attendance, the guest author was prominent human rights scholar and McGill University professor Ronald Niezen, and the critics were UB faculty members Joshua Kassner from the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences and Nusta Carranza Ko from the College of Public Affairs.
"As part of an institution of higher learning, the Hoffberger Center is able to facilitate and critically engage a wealth of scholarship and expertise, and promote ethics across disciplines and throughout the greater community," said Scalet.
Scalet's teaching career spans 25 years, with a research focus on applied ethics, political philosophy, and ethics and economics. He joined the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences faculty in 2010, first as associate professor followed by a promotion to full professor. Prior to joining The University of Baltimore, Scalet was associate professor at Binghamton University (SUNY) where he received the Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching as well as directing graduate and undergraduate programs in philosophy, politics, and law.
Scalet has published extensively, including his most recent book, Markets, Ethics, and Business Ethics (second edition). He also co-authored Morality and Moral Controversies (10th edition), and has written a range of scholarly articles on applied ethics and social and political philosophy.
Prof. Scalet holds a doctoral degree in philosophy and a master's degree in economics, both from the University of Arizona.
Learn more about Prof. Scalet. Learn more about the Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics.
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the College of Public Affairs, the Merrick School of Business, the UB School of Law and the Yale Gordon College of Arts and Sciences.