Programs & Events

Recent Events & Programs

• Events at the Thomas Moran Seminar Room

  The Institute for Ethics in Public Life houses a set of offices embracing a central conference area, the Thomas Moran Seminar Room, dedicated on May 13, 2022. A handsome and stately table comfortably seats 18, around which the institute hosts conversations on a wide variety of themes: education, public policy, social justice, plus many more. 

  Image: Dr. Thomas Moran unveils the wall plaque for the Thomas Moran Seminar Room

  The ethics institute has held over 700 conversations and presentations on topics of public interest since its founding in 1999. Led by its fellows in residence, past fellows, the institute’s senior scholars, college faculty, students, alumni, community members and the institute director, these events are a unique component of faculty professional development here at SUNY Plattsburgh. They serve as an opportunity for members of our campus community, and — thanks to streaming technology — members of the SUNY-wide community to gather and freely engage with each other in collegial and open dialogue about stuff that matters.

• Campus Panels & Presentations

  The institute sponsors panel discussions and presentations elsewhere on campus, alone or in conjunction with other campus offices, to inform members of the campus community and local community about issues of public importance.

• Constitution Day

  Obligated as a public institution of higher learning receiving federal funds, SUNY Plattsburgh, through its Institute for Ethics in Public Life, has led educational activities every September since the establishment of Constitution Day by Congress in 2004.

• International Conference

  In May 2022, the Ethics Institute hosted a day-long international virtual conference on women’s reproductive rights, featuring more than 20 educators, policy makers and healthcare professionals speaking directly to 120 attendees around the world plus hundreds of students in classrooms patching in from 14 universities and colleges in the U.S., Canada and the U.K.