1. Ethics and Higher Education
GÖRAN BEXELL, F. VICE-CHANCELLOR LUND UNIVERSITY

2. Two main questions of this conference
• How can universities become more decisive partners in
the issues on the global agenda?
• How can we take a more active role in shaping
humanity´s common future?
• Rethink and apply academic values!

3. The heart of universities: academic
values
No academic values - Academic values: yes!
no universities
Academic freedom and
responsibility
academic integrity
academic quality
academic collegiality

4. Threats against academic values
Conservatism and
instrumentalism
Defense of privileges
Change of organization
Internal misuse of
power
External demands

5. Human values and academic values
Mutual support
Global and shared
values

6. Academic values and ethical guidelines
Ethics: values, norms
and virtues
The purpose of
guidelines: to support
values

7. The new IAU-document
• Valuable document
• Guidelines more than values
• Future goal: one document including values
• Implementation; Ethical Advisory Committee
• Rules of sanctions
• Ethical knowledge and sensibility

8. Two documents: IAU and Lund
University
• Ethical Issues at LU:
• LU is part of a worldwide value system
• Researcher ethics and research ethics
• Model for discussion of ethical issues
• Collection of examples from LU
• IAU: Ethical guidelines for actions
• Find your own way!

9. Higher education and ethics
A twofold purpose of ethics for Why ethics?
Higher Education:
Defense against misconduct (a
negative task)
Challenge to build universities
with ethical commitment (a
positive task)

10. Guidelines: defense against misconduct
• Discrimination
• Cheating
• Corruption
• Bribes
• Increase accountability, assessments, support within IAU
• Cf reports by Stephen Heynemann, Jami Salmi

11. Ethics as a challenge:
the teacher as a role model
Incorporates academic
values
in education and
research
in daily life
One way to influence
tomorrow´s global
leaders!

12. Ethics as a challenge:
the student as an academic citizen
Foster the student to
understand, integrate
and implement
academic values
An academic citizen
A future global leader

13. Ethics as a challenge:
the societal responsibility of a university
• Universities are not value-neutral in society
• Represent human and academic values
• Rethink how to influence society!
• Responsibility towards society
• Protect free speech and publishing, non-discrimination,
analysis and alternatives, relevant education and
research, participate in public debate

14. Ethics as a challenge:
the global responsibility of a university
Global issues: MDG, Global future
post 2015 UN goals
Students: global
citizens
Academic values
against other values
taking over the global
leadership
A global unity of shared
values and academic
diversity

15. Ethics as a challenge:
the university as a role model institution
• High confidence of the public is necessary for universities
• Intellectual and ethical independence from economic,
political and religious powers
• No identification with antidemocratic systems, mere
capitalism, narrow-minded utility, globalism
• High ethical standard
• An enormous impact on society

16. Thank You!
My latest book (in End!
Swedish): Akademiska
värden visar vägen,
Stockholm 2011
(not yet translated:
Academic values show
the way)