JG
John Gardner
  • Philosophy and Religion - BA
  • Class of 2015
  • Fairfax, VA

Fairfax resident chosen to study at Yale summer bioethics institute

2014 Sep 15

John Gardner, a fifth-year senior at James Madison University, recently completed a two-month intensive summer program at Yale University's Interdisciplinary Center for Bioethics.

Gardner was one of 75 American and international students chosen to participate in the summer institute, which consists of lectures and seminars on bioethical issues presented by scholars from Yale and other institutions, as well as group discussions, field trips and a research "mini-conference" during which participants are required to present a paper on a topic of their choice. The institute defines bioethics broadly to include medical, biological and environmental ethics.

"It was a little intimidating at first, being at Yale and in group discussions with people from around the world who are experts in their fields, but I feel like I held my own intellectually," said Gardner.

Gardner will give a presentation at JMU this fall in conjunction with The Madison Collaborative: Ethical Reasoning in Action. In addition, he will assist in the teaching of a course in bioethics in the spring semester.

JMU Public Affairs contact: James Heffernan, (540) 568-4553, hefferjm@jmu.edu