Mission & Activities

Mission

The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Center for Ethics, Public Policy and the Professions at the University of North Florida (the "Center") fosters deliberation on ethical issues as they emerge in public and professional life.

The Center is dedicated to facilitating the application of moral reasoning to questions of ethics and values as faced by policymakers, researchers, and professional practitioners in the areas of health care, law, business, engineering, education, government, and public life generally. The Center contributes to regional, national, and international discussion of these matters through research, education, community outreach, and professional ethics consultations.

Located within the Department of Philosophy of UNF's College of Arts and Sciences (COAS), the Center draws on the expertise of scholars in the Philosophy Department and other COAS departments.

The Center also works in cooperation with UNF's professional colleges: Health, Business Administration, Education and Human Services, and Computing Sciences and Engineering.

The Center is associated with the Northeast Florida Bioethics Forum, which is housed within the Center.

Activities

Education. The Center assists UNF students preparing for professional careers in law, health care, business, education, engineering and government, providing them with informed and useful perspectives on ethical issues that they will confront during their careers.

Service. The Center offers training and consultation for local and regional professionals and public officials, providing tools with which to make informed ethical choices and decisions.

Research. The Center fosters scholarly research in the area of applied ethics with an emphasis on the ethical challences and dilemmas commonly confronted by professionals and policy makers.

Public Outreach. The Center supports and promotes the existence of a regional public sphere in which academics, policymakers, professionals, and community members can regularly deliberate on the pressing ethical questions that we increasingly confront as individuals, professionals, citizens and members of a global community.