Director's Welcome

The challenge for a university-wide ethics center is a bit like the problem of someone who tries to take a sip of water from a wide-open fire hydrant: how to keep from drowning in too much of a good thing. 

That we live in an ethics-challenged time is beyond cliché.  The public rightly questions whether our major cultural institutions -- corporate, nonprofit, political, religious, educational, professional -- have lost their way.  The daily news suggests that this skepticism is not cynical so much as it is, sadly, realistic.

And yet, there is much to celebrate, as well.  Ethics is widely understood to provide an indispensable element in the education of tomorrow's leaders and in the DNA of the institutions where much of that leadership activity will occur.  It would be tragic if all of this consensus were merely a way to pay lip-service to this ethical ideal, but the creation of the Maguire Center -- and the good work of so many who support our program throughout the year -- evidences a deep commitment to ethics as an integral part of the SMU experience.

I hope you find much on this website that is useful, educational, rewarding, even inspirational.  The Center is engaged in many activities intended to engage the minds and enrich the experiences of students, faculty, and staff, as well as to contribute to the intellectual vitality of our Dallas-Fort Worth, Southwest, and national and international communities.  If you find an activity here with which you'd like to get involved, let us know.  If you have suggestions for ways we can improve what we do, please share your comments with us. 

150 years ago Henry David Thoreau observed, "Aim above morality.  Be not simply good; be good for something."  My goal is for the Maguire Center to make a difference in the life of SMU and of our community.  I'd like to think Thoreau would approve.

Tom Mayo