Associate Professor
Education
Ph.D., University of Arizona
M.A., University of Arizona
M.A., University of Arizona
B.A., Franklin and Marshall College
Steven Scalet’s most recent book is Markets, Ethics, and Business Ethics, Third Edition (Routledge, 2025). He is also working on a forthcoming 11th Edition of Morality and Moral Controversies, a reader in legal, ethical, and political philosophy. Professor Scalet’s research is in applied ethics, political and legal philosophy, and ethics and economics.
After receiving his Ph.D. in philosophy and M.A. in economics from the University of Arizona in 1999, Prof. Scalet taught as an assistant and associate professor of philosophy at Binghamton University (The State University of New York), where he was awarded the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Binghamton University Council and Foundation Award for Extraordinary Service. During this time, he was the founding director of the graduate 3/2 M.A. Program in Philosophy as well as the Pell Undergraduate Honors Program. Scalet also served as director of the Philosophy, Politics, and Law Program, as well as directing and leading study abroad programs that included faculty and student exchanges between Binghamton University and the University of East Anglia in Norwich, England. Scalet served as Co-Editor and Editor of the American Philosophical Association Newsletter in Philosophy and Law (2006-2014).
At the University of Baltimore Scalet is a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and director of the Hoffberger Center for Ethical Engagement. He is the recipient of the Student Nominated Student Support Excellence in Learning, Teaching, and Technology Award (2024). He has served as director of several academic programs, including the B.A. in Jurisprudence, the B.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies, and the B.A. in Philosophy, Law, and Ethics. As director of the Hoffberger Center, Scalet led a revitalization including a revised mission, new campus location, and new programming and structure. Author-Meets-Critics events bring leading scholars and their critics to Ubalt to discuss significant social and ethical challenges. Student Fellows develop leadership skills and pursue in-depth conversations and projects in ethics, and faculty Research Fellows contribute to invigorating ethical dialogue.
In his spare time, Scalet enjoys travel with his wife Debby and daughter Sophia, and likes finding time to read long works in the history of philosophy.
A sampling of Professor Scalet's publications include:
* Markets, Ethics, and Business Ethics. Third Edition (Routledge, 2025).
* Forthcoming 11th edition of Morality and Moral Controversies (Routledge, 2019). This new edition will focus on how recent Supreme Court decisions impact perennial debates in moral, social, and political philosophy.
* “Migration, Neighborliness, and Belonging” in Can Human Rights and National Sovereignty Coexist (Routledge, 2023).
* “Collective Responsibility and the Purposes of Banks” (Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 2018).“Ethical Reasoning in Global Business Decision-Making” (Business Ethics, and Peace, co-author with Thomas Kelly, 2015).
* “The Ethics of Credit Rating Agencies” (Journal of Business Ethics, with Thomas Kelly, 2012).
* “Legitimacy, Confrontation Respect, and the Bind of Freestanding Liberalism” (Journal of Social Philosophy, 2010).
* “Prisoner’s Dilemmas, Cooperative Norms, and Codes of Business Ethics (Journal of Business Ethics, 2006).
Recent invited lectures and speaking engagements include:
* “The Ethics and Values of Economic Life,” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, 2025.
* “AI impacts in Business Ethics,” Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, 2024.
* “Political Epistemology in Political Liberalism,” Philosophy, Politics, and Economics Annual Conference, 2023.
In addition to a range of undergraduate courses in philosophy, critical thinking and ethics, Scalet’s courses at UBalt include:
Markets, Ethics, and Law
Philosophy, Law, and Current Events
Theories of Justice
AI and Philosophy
Moral Leadership and Excellence
Philosophy of Religion
Philosophy of Star Wars
Scalet especially enjoys engaging students in the classroom. He has taught at the University of Arizona, Binghamton University, the University of East Anglia (Norwich, England), University of Baltimore, and the Chautauqua Institution as Special Studies Faculty, as well as many invited lectures. Courses include doctoral seminars on John Rawls and rational choice theory, graduate courses in political philosophy, and undergraduate courses in medical, environmental, and business ethics, world religions, ancient and modern philosophy, philosophy and American society, and corporate social responsibility. In economics, Scalet has taught courses in intermediate microeconomics, the economics of property rights, and economic justice.
Books
Scalet, S. P. (2025). Markets, Ethics, and Business Ethics 3rd Edition.
Book Chapters
Scalet, S. P. (2023). “Migration, Neighborliness, and Belonging”. Routledge.
Scalet, S. P. Immigration, Human Rights, and Displacement: A Panel Discussion, "Migration and Applied Ethics," Hoffberger Center for Professional Ethics, The University of Baltimore. (2022).
Scalet, S. P. Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, "Revitalizing and Creating an Ethics Center," Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, Cincinnati, Ohio. (2022).
Scalet, S. P. Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, "The Social Ethics of Migration, Neighborliness, and Belonging," Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, Cincinnati, Ohio. (2022).
"Morality and Moral Controversies 11th Edition" (On-Going)
"Philosophy and the Public: Ever the Twain Shall Meet" (On-Going)
"The Purposeholder Theory of Corporations" (On-Going)
"Two Concepts of Respect" (Planning)