About

The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good (ECG) facilitates interdisciplinary research in foundational and applied ethics, coordinates projects that cross departments and units, and supports ethics-related education and public engagement efforts.

The work of the Institute includes:

• its highly competitive and successful fellowship programs for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates
• its popular Signature Course Fellowship program, which is supported by a major John Templeton Foundation grant
• the Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., Center for Virtue Ethics, recently established in honor of University President Emeritus Father Jenkins
• the Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab, sponsored by IBM through a 10-year, $20-million investment

As ECG grows, it will focus attention on other pillars of applied ethics, including environmental ethics and the ethics of business and governance.

ECG is a signature element of the Ethics Initiative, one of several University-wide strategic efforts that draw on expertise from multiple colleges, schools, centers, and institutes in order to make the most meaningful contributions to questions of national and international concern.

Mission

The Institute for Ethics and the Common Good convenes a multidisciplinary community of scholars, students, and leaders to advance moral understanding and develop compelling responses to the most pressing ethical issues of our era. Inspired by the Catholic intellectual and social tradition, we promote broad ethical inquiry in service to human dignity, interdependent flourishing, and the common good.

Vision

We will be among the world’s leading institutes for the study of foundational and applied ethics, distinctive in our commitment to the insight that faith perspectives offer in renewing and shaping those pursuits.