Ethical Reasoning in Action embodies and complements the university mission as we promise to prepare students to be "educated and enlightened citizens who lead productive and meaningful lives." JMU already values and promotes integrity within its community, yet the complex society which our graduates enter calls us to do more.

We aim to answer this call wholeheartedly through coordinated and enhanced curricular and co-curricular opportunities that employ an eight-question ethical reasoning framework to be applied in three domains: personal, professional, and civic life.

Ethical Reasoning in Action has three overarching goals. We will:

  1. Elevate the campus-wide understanding and discourse on ethical reasoning as a teachable, evaluative process.
  2. Provide a unifying framework that aligns campus efforts to teach and assess ethical reasoning.
  3. Encourage multiple avenues of intentional connection among personal, professional, and civic application of ethical reasoning skills in the classroom, co-curricular activities, and student life.

Mission Statement

Ethical Reasoning in Action prepares enlightened citizens who apply ethical reasoning in their personal, professional, and civic lives.

Vision Statement

Ethical Reasoning in Action will transform JMU into a community recognized for producing contemplative, engaged citizens who apply ethical reasoning to confront the challenges of the world.

Values Statement

In the application of ethical reasoning to our personal, professional, and civic lives, we value

  • challenging unexamined thought patterns and behaviors to evaluate complex issues and diverse perspectives;
  • engaging individuals and groups in intellectual inquiry, respectful dialogue and meaningful action;
  • fostering community through collaboration; and
  • positively transforming ourselves, our communities, and our world.

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