Summer research projects invited students to explore
themes connected to the Values & Vocations Project. Research
topics focused on the ethical and moral dimensions of work or professions, the role of values and beliefs in leadership development, the concept of work as a vocation, work as a contribution to the common good, as well as others. This 10-week on-campus research experience allowed students to engage in intensive scholarly inquiry with the support of a faculty mentor.
Past Research Projects:
Madeline Baugh, The Weight of the Word: Multicultural Values and the Dual-Language Classroom
Nathan Baptiste, Nonprofit Organizations and Values of Self-Empowerment: Helping People Create Their Own Fulfillment in Life
Lauren Constancio, Reproductive Biotechnology and Ethical Decisions: Buddhist vs. Catholic Standpoints
Noah Glusenkamp, Getting Real about Morality: Insights from the Confluence of Philosophy and Sociobiology
Heather Kanny, Articulations of Islamic Identity: A Case Study in the Negotiation of Religion and Secularism in Egypt and Iran
Jacob Dubail, Buddhist Environmental Ethics in Practice
Akhila Kanna, Strides: Therapeutic Horseback Riding: The Beliefs, Values, and Experiences of Those Who Help the Disabled on a Non-Profit Basis
Alexandra Franzen, East Meets West: Strengthening the Traditional Doctor-Patient Relationship with Alternative Medical Techniques
Ann Hong, So What Does God have To Do with Anything? William Faulkner and Toni Morrison: Christianity in their Fictions and their Lives
Erin Richey, Meaning and Demeaning: Life Accounts on the Worth of Work
Melanie Riccobene, From Sisterhood to Objectivity: Social Workers, Unmarried Mothers, and the Professionalization of Charity in the 1920s
Patrick Hovakimian, Exploring American Exceptionalism
Suzanne Im, Feminist Ethics and the Degree of Bureaucratic Organization in Asian Pacific Islander Women's Shelters in Los Angeles
Faculty were invited to develop courses that enabled students to understand how the relationship between intellectual inquiry and one’s own set of values and beliefs shape the choices one makes. Values & Vocations courses aim to further the formation of a well-developed sense of self—spiritually and intellectually—in relationship to the world. Past courses have included:
