Pursuing the best in ethics and values.
The Hoffberger Center for Ethical Engagement is dedicated to the pursuit of the best in ethics and values through a program that stimulates scholarship; addresses important topics in applied and professional ethics; encourages ethical engagement within the University, the surrounding Mid-Atlantic region, and beyond; promotes the integration and teaching of ethics across the curriculum; and provides an active forum for ethical reflection and critical inquiry.
Programming
The University of Baltimore
Ethical engagement is one of The University of Baltimore’s core values. The Center sponsors ethics-related scholarship and programs for faculty, students, staff and the community; supports faculty fellows and student fellows; leads the University of Baltimore collegiate Ethics Bowl team; and includes the A. in Philosophy, Law, and Ethics (PLE) program. PLE joins a select group of interdisciplinary programs in the United States with ethics as a core part of its design. Finally, the Center administers a distinctive upper-division University-wide ethics course that satisfies a general education requirement in ethics: IDIS 302 Ethical Issues in Business and Society. In 2021, the Center initiated a thorough revitalization of this course, sponsoring ongoing workshops, continuing education, honors sections, enhanced integration of Writing Fellows, and a revised curriculum to support a vital and dynamic educational experience for today’s students. The Hoffberger Center is a key partner for promoting ethical engagement at UBalt.
The Mid-Atlantic Region
For more than a decade and a half, the Hoffberger Center has sponsored the Mid-Atlantic Regional High School Ethics Bowl , which annually draws 10-20 high school teams from Baltimore and the surrounding region. In 2023, the Hoffberger Center celebrated the return of the Intercollegiate Northeast Regional Bowl to The University of Baltimore. After months-long preparation, each team joins a day-long conference that tests students’ abilities to think through ethical puzzles and intriguing case studies in ethics. The Center brings together a large team of moderators and judges (over forty volunteers from the University and region) to select a winning team whose members continue to a national championship conference. In 2023, this Ethics Bowl enrolled the largest number of teams in its history, supported by the generosity of a great number of volunteer judges and moderators. The Center has also sponsored a Leadership in Action series, featuring regional leaders who share their experiences and inspire dialogue in the community about leadership and ethics. The Center gathers a regional network of faculty researchers interested in ethics. In 2024, The Hoffberger Center will host a panel of regional experts and activists from the Disability Advocacy community for a discussion centered on the ethics of digital accessibility in the midst of rapid technological advancements.
National and International
Frequent Author Meets Critics sessions at the Hoffberger Center bring together national and international scholars for debate and cross-disciplinary conversation that serve to connect local, national, and international authors. The Center also organizes international conferences and periodic colloquia in scholarship related to ethics and values. Center associates often present research at academic conferences, such as those hosted by the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and the American Philosophical Association.
About the Center
Founded in 1987 through a matching grant from the Hoffberger Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Hoffberger Center for Ethical Engagement is located in Baltimore, Maryland at The University of Baltimore, University System of Maryland. The Center has provided over thirty years of ethics-related programming.
2024-25 Hoffberger Center Events
Please email center director Steven Scalet for event location information and details. Many meeting recordings are available on Panopto for those internal to The University of Baltimore.
2024-2025 Events
| DATE | EVENT |
| Sept. 18 | Hoffberger Center Opening Reception |
| Oct. 16 |
Bee Bridge Builders: Ethics Seminar: Dialogue v. Debate |
| Oct. 28 | Annual Ethics Week: Ethics, Democracy, and Civil Discourse, Session One: Prof. Kassner, Truth Matters: Epistemic Constraints on Fair Decision-Making Processes |
| Oct. 29 | Annual Ethics Week: Ethics, Democracy, and Civil Discourse, Session Two: Author Meets Critic: Prof. Aaron Herold, The Democratic Soul: Spinoza, Tocqueville, and Enlightenment Theology |
| Oct. 30 |
Annual Ethics Week: Ethics, Democracy, and Civil Discourse, Session Three: Prof. Steven Scalet, Rights in Markets & Democracy |
| Oct. 31 |
Annual Ethics Week: Ethics, Democracy, and Civil Discourse: Session Four: Dine and Debate, Takamira Williams |
| Nov. 1 |
Native American Heritage Month: National Museum of the American Indian co-sponsored event with Diversity and International Services |
| Dec. 7 |
Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| Feb. 1 |
National High School Ethics Bowl, William H. Thumel Business Center, University of Baltimore |
| March 12 | AI and Robot Servitude, Guest Speaker, Prof. Craig Duncan, Ithaca College |
Recurring Events
| DATE | EVENT |
| Mondays, 12 p.m. | Hoffberger Center Planning and Development Meeting |
| Wednesdays, 2 p.m. |
Hoffberger Center Reading Group |
| times and dates vary | Hoffberger Student Fellows Cohort Activities |
| Wednesdays | Hoffberger Common Hour |
| times and dates vary | Philosophy Club Meetings and Events |