Beyond Value-Added:
The Development of Moral Literacy in a Research University
by
Joan Poliner Shapiro,1 Ann Weaver Hart,
Laurinda B. Harman and Lisa Staiano-Coico
Temple University
A Paper Presented to the 2008 Annual UCEA Convention, Orlando, Florida
Introduction
Accountability has been part of elementary and secondary education for a long time, and
has most recently made a strong appearance in higher education in the U.S. (Burke, 2005;
Lyons, McIntosh & Kysilka, 2003). Educational institutions have been asked, as never
before, to demonstrate the intellectual abilities of the students they accept as well as what
they have added to the knowledge base of these students over time. Universities have
been able to showcase their accomplishments in many ways. For example, they have
been able to report the SAT, GRE and other graduate exam average scores for their
current students. They have been able to state the ratio of faculty to students, indicating
that the latter would receive close attention. They have also been able to document the
paths of their undergraduate students highlighting which graduate schools they will enter,
and they follow their graduate students into the world of employment.
Not wishing to diminish these measures, they do tend to focus on one kind of literacy - intellectual literacy. However, they do not deal with moral literacy and the values-added
(not value-added) accomplishments a university makes in educating their students.
Tuana (2007) writes:
Moral literacy should be no different than math or reading literacy. Since all of
us as individuals, as professionals, and as citizens will need to make numerous
moral decisions throughout our lifetime, what stronger argument can there be for
1
Contact information: Dr. Joan Poliner Shapiro, Professor Temple Universitym College of Educationm
Ritter Hall 238, Philadelphia, PA 19122m Phone: (215)204-6645, email: joan.shapiro@temple.edu.
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making moral literacy a component of our formal educational experience? What
better way to help strengthen education for the twenty-first century? (p.366)
One powerful example of moral literacy is now taking place in Germany. There, students
in high school study a curriculum with an emphasis on World War II and the Holocaust.
The students are asked to learn not only facts and concepts related to the war, but they are
expected to think reflectively, analytically, critically and even emotionally about what
occurred. Such moral literacy preparation means that German students are provided with
a moral compass and an ethical decision making process enabling them to make wise and
compassionate decisions in the future.
Of late, at Temple University, there has been an attempt to take moral literacy seriously.
The call to action came initially from the President’s Inauguration Address. The charge
was then passed on to the Provost’s Academic Planning Committee. Aware of the
President’s current message in her inaugural address as well as of Temple’s strong core
beliefs from its inception, each major initiative that emanated from the nine working
groups, associated with the Provost’s planning process, had to have a values statement as
an introduction. In addition, because ethics was such a strong thrust in the planning
process, an ethical threader role was added. This faculty member’s job was to move
among the nine working groups, pull out ethical concepts, and thread them through the
entire planning process.
The planning process is still occurring as most of the major initiatives loop back to the
President and ultimately reach the Board of Trustees’ approval process. President Hart
sees her role as a guide. While honoring the ideas emanating from the nine working
groups; she has reinstituted a few important themes that were not clearly visible in the
draft academic plan.
Although waiting for the president and board’s approval, one initiative is already in the
process of being designed, and it focuses on moral literacy. It will lead to an Applied
Ethics Certificate. Although voluntary in nature, the hope is that by working towards a
certificate, many Temple students will become not only intellectually literate but morally
literate as well.
This paper provides an overview of the president’s address, the provost’s planning
process thus far, and then discusses the moral literacy initiative being developed that
focuses on reaching the undergraduate student body of the university. It is hoped that the
values-added, ethical decision-making approach taken at this university will make a
positive difference not only in the careers and lives of individual students, but also in the
university community and in society as a whole (Harman, 2006; Shapiro & Gross, 2008;
Shapiro & Stefkovich, 2005).
This paper is also the beginning of an action research study. Different voices and
perspectives will emerge as the study goes forward. Currently, the president, provost
ethics threader, and ethics point person are working together, offering their views of what
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is occurring on the Temple campus. In time, more voices will be heard that will include
other faculty members, administrators and students.
The Role of the President in Developing Values
The challenges facing college and university presidents are not materially
different from those in charge of any other large organization, but the
responsibility for leading with virtue is greater because of the role that our
institutions play in society. Even in an era of budget reductions and intensified
competition from ‘fast-food’ education providers, higher education remains our
society’s conscience – institutions that are empowered to question and challenge,
that are expected to instill values and character, and that are perceived as standing
for more than the pursuit of a healthy bottom line.
Albert Yates, President Emeritus, Colorado State University
(Brown, D.G. (ed.). 2006, p.4)
In her inauguration address as president of Temple University, Ann Weaver Hart (2007)
provided an ethical guideline for her new institution. In her inspiring speech, unlike
many other educational leaders who were selected from outside the university
community, she spoke with great respect about Temple’s original Conwellian tradition of
encouraging the enrollment of first generation college students. With veneration of the
past, she talked of the university’s core value of providing “access to an intellectual and
creative space where academically talented, highly motivated and prepared students can
achieve excellence, regardless of their status or station in life.”
In her speech, she made the connection with the university’s traditional values by
speaking about her own life, indicating how access to a fine education had been essential
to achieve her potential. She made it clear that without a scholarship to a research
university, she could never have attained her current position. She also made a pledge to
members of the university community. She stated:
The light and warmth of Temple guided and comforted our predecessors. We
must pledge to our successors that we will shine that light and generate renewed
warmth into the future. Temple is Philadelphia’s University; Temple is the
world’s university. Our hearts as well as our heads will be dedicated to its future.
Join me in this great endeavor – feel the glow of the Temple you know and the
Temple you envision. Then “trust your feelings. I trusted mine.”
Although the new president spoke with pride about the university’s past, emphasizing, in
particular, the concept of access to excellence, she went on to discuss the following
themes: strengthening the university’s commitment with its neighborhood and
community; focusing on sustainability; emphasizing knowledge generation, research
innovation, and entrepreneurship; and developing an international presence.
Because of her pride in the past as well as her infusion of new ideas for the future, her
speech resonated with many of those who had been part of the institution for a long time
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as well as with those who were new to Temple. The speech’s deep meanings and strong
themes have subsequently become part of the framework for dialogue and discussion in
the Provost’s Academic Planning Committee.
However, the President’s speech was not the only way she became part of the process.
Once the draft from the academic planning committee reached her desk, she saw herself
as a guide who should add any missing or vague pieces. For example, she saw to it that
the need for enrollment management, an expanded honor’s program and an emphasis on
adult learning on one of Temple’s campuses, although mentioned by the working groups,
were placed in more visible positions in the next draft of the Provost’s plan.
President Hart also headed off some of the potential conflicts inherent in the idea of
expanding the honor’s college. Some faculty members felt that expanding an elite
concept went against Temple’s social justice mission. To avoid elitism, the president
made certain that the concept of “multiple points of access” was incorporated into the
plan. Under this concept, students who might not have initially been accepted to the
honor’s program, could become part of it later on in their studies. Transfer students,
many of whom joined the university from community colleges, would also be able to
enter the honor’s program when they showed they were ready for its courses. To avoid
exclusion, President Hart did not advocate an honor’s college that was recommended by
some participants in the planning process; instead she advocated for an expanded honor’s
program enabling diverse students to become part of it if and when they showed the
initiative and determination to achieve at a high level.
The Role of the Provost in Developing Values
An academic year later, soon after Provost Lisa Staiano-Coico arrived at Temple,
President Hart gave her the charge to begin to develop an academic planning process that
would include diverse constituencies in the university and would design some worthwhile
initiatives for the university’s future. Ultimately, bringing together over 100 faculty
members, administrators, staff and students, the Provost began a year-long planning
process. The Steering Committee, meeting on a weekly basis, had thoughtful dialogues
as did the nine working groups that played a significant part in the planning process.
In addition to the working groups, three threaders’ roles were built into the process. They
included a diversity threader, a technology threader and an ethical threader. The latter
was a faculty member who visited all the working groups, helped to select ethics point
people in each group who would keep ethics and values on the table during discussions,
and wrote a report (Shapiro, 2008) based on the ethical concepts that emerged through
dialogues with the group leaders and members. Concepts in the report included: academic
integrity; access to excellence; conflict of interest; ethical decision making; ethic of
community; pursuit of happiness; respect, rights, and responsibility; sustainability; and
appropriate use of student information.
Through working groups and ethical discussions, it became clear that Temple was a
“values-driven campus.” In fact, it appeared that a number of the values and initiatives
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within the academic planning program dove-tailed well with the concepts discussed in
President Hart’s inauguration address. Although changed somewhat, initiatives such as,
Access to Excellence – Opportunities for Success; Destination Temple; Creating an
Entrepreneurial Culture; and Temple as a University with Global Reach (Staiano-Coico,
2008), encompass the concepts that the President introduced when she first arrived at the
university.
With the values inherent in the President’s inaugural address and in the Provost’s
academic plan in alignment, the stage is now set for the university to truly inculcate these
values, some of which are based on Temple’s past and present, and many of which are
designed for the university’s future. One caveat should be noted, President Hart does not
see this academic plan set in stone - - far from it! In fact, she hopes for what she calls
strategic serendipity, leading to an ongoing, flexible academic development process
rather than a static one.
The Integration of New and Old Values into the Life of the University
Despite the logical development of ideas and plans, inevitably there have to be some
problems infusing some of these values into an institution as complex as a large research
university. Different values and beliefs abound. For example, differences can be found
in the following: the various colleges and schools; the diverse unions that cross the
boundaries of the various schools and colleges; and the Faculty Senate and other
representative bodies that tend to develop their own belief systems over time. In
addition, in place already, there are values and ethics emanating from the different
professions. Related to professional ethics, a number of the colleges and schools have
been working on their own strategic plans. Further, individual departments have been
developing their own agenda for the future.
Thus, there are a number of questions that must be addressed for this alignment of values
to succeed. They are: How can or should the values from the top of the hierarchy and
from the planning groups permeate the university? Should these values be infused in the
colleges and schools’ plans? How will these values be able to reach the departments,
programs and eventually the students? Although the provost’s academic planning
process included many faculty and administrators, there are still numerous faculty and
administrators, let alone students, who had no voice in the development of the values and
initiatives. Should those who did not participate now become part of the process? If so,
how?
In association with the issue of inclusion, other questions can be asked, such as: Should
the web or Blackboard be used to reach those faculty and administrators who have yet to
become involved? Will the web or Blackboard offer and receive enough feedback on the
diverse values and varied initiatives? Should deans and chairs of the schools’ and
colleges’ collegial assemblies play a role in integrating the values into their respective
institutions? Should the Faculty Senate of the university play a part in the development
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and dissemination process? Can students be reached through blogs, face book, and
Blackboard to develop a dialogue focused on ethics and values in the university?
Other related questions are: Should the president and provost play special roles in the
development and dissemination of university values? What of the Board of Trustees?
Should they have a significant role in deepening and developing ethics? On a unionized
campus, what part should the unions play in making certain that these values are accepted
and utilized? Can the Faculty Senate and the Collegial Assemblies in each school and
college be part of this process? If so, what can they do to help the incorporation of these
new values and beliefs into the overall institution?
Towards Moral Literacy: An Applied Ethics Certificate
Although many questions have been raised regarding the academic plan and the
dissemination of values and initiatives emanating from it, one potentially exciting project
is already on the drawing board. It relates well to the concept of moral literacy (Tuana,
2007) for undergraduate students in the university. Moved by the strong focus on values
coming from the President’s speech and the academic planning process, the Provost
encouraged the development of an ethics seminar for undergraduate students.
While working on the seminar series, a faculty member, Laurinda Harman, on the Health
Sciences Campus, suggested the idea of an Applied Ethics Certificate. This certificate
would be voluntary in nature and would be given to a student who took part in ethics
seminars and other values-related events and courses throughout her or his undergraduate
years at Temple. Moving through the program, a student would have to not only attend
the ethics sessions, but also write critical and thoughtful papers related to the events.
General Education courses might count towards the certificate and service learning
opportunities might also be part of the process. The student would retain a portfolio of
papers, reviewed by diverse faculty members throughout his or her undergraduate years,
and would receive a certificate at the time of graduation, indicating that he or she had
carried out work in the area of applied ethics. The intention would be that a student
would receive a document indicating some concentrated efforts and experiences towards
the mastery of moral literacy. Hopefully graduate schools and employers would
understand the certificate’s worth and respect the student for taking the time to add an indepth study of ethics and values to his or her academic program.
The development of the project is underway. A meeting was held recently with the VicePresident for Student Affairs who believes that the work she is doing with students
should be perceived as co-curricular rather than extra curricular in nature. Thus, she is
extremely excited about our moral literacy emphasis. The vice-president is already
working with sixty students each year who are outstanding leaders, and she has a seven
day leadership program in place for them which is now in its third year. The vicepresident can see how an applied ethics certificate would dove-tail well with this
program. She spoke of the joint initiatives as moving towards a concept of leadership
with integrity. She has suggested that we meet with her assistants and brainstorm ideas
together. Focus groups of students will then be held to determine the level of interest and
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the kinds of experiences that might lead to the receipt of the certificate at graduation. If
some of these students decide to help shape the program, we discussed the possibility of
them receiving credit towards being awarded the applied ethics certificate at their time of
graduation. Beyond the involvement of the vice-president’s office, other students, faculty
members, administrators and staff in different schools and colleges on the Temple
campus will be asked to provide feedback to ascertain not only what should be expected
for attaining this certificate but also how it can be monitored over time.
Conclusion: Moral Literacy within a Research Institution
When President Hart made her impassioned and meaningful inaugural address, the
concepts that she mentioned were but ideals. Some of these ideals, however, are moving
towards reality. For example, there is a new Office of Sustainability that is beginning to
work with schools and colleges on this concept in the university. Also, as leader of the
International Commission of the Land Grant Universities, President Hart has held
meetings focusing on collaborating with higher education institutions in China and in
Africa to increase Temple’s international presence. Currently, as well, the Provost’s
office is developing initiatives, with the support of the President and Board of Trustees,
emanating from the Academic Planning Process. However, questions still abound: Will
the majority of suggested initiatives move towards fruition? Will there be enough
support from all constituencies to enable them to become part of the fabric of the
university? Will there be sufficient monies raised, through development, to support the
initiatives over time? And, will the good will that is with the president and provost at the
present time prevail, even if there are disagreements along the way? These are just some
of the questions that need to be considered throughout this planning process.
In the interim, hopefully, the moral literacy project will move ahead. Needless to say, the
story is far from finished. However, the intention in this particular action research study
is to follow the moral literacy initiative, and report back on its progress. As faculty,
administrators and students become involved, their voices will be heard in future reports.
Hopefully, the values that have been such a fundamental part of the inaugural address and
academic planning process will enable this moral literacy initiative to develop and thrive,
but additional human and fiscal resources, careful evaluation, and time will tell.
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References
Burke, J.C. (2005). Achieving accountability in higher education: Balancing public,
academic, and market demands. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Harman, L.B. (Ed.). (2006). Ethical challenges in the management of health
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Hart, A. W. (2007). Inauguration address. Retrieved 1/2/2008 at
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Lyons, R.E., McIntosh, M. & Kysilka, M.L. (2003). Teaching college in an age of
accountability. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Shapiro, J.P. & Stefkovich, J.A. (2005). Ethical leadership and decision making in
education: Applying theoretical perspectives to complex dilemmas, 2nd ed.
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Staiano-Coico, L. (2008) Temple transformation. Appendix C: Potential initiatives.
Temple University Document, Philadelphia, PA.
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Tuana, N. (2007). Conceptualizing moral literacy. Journal of Educational
Administration, 45(4): pp.364-378.
Yates, A. (2006). In D.G. Brown (ed.), University presidents as moral leaders,
(p.4). Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers.
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