APPE IEB Study
2023-2024 APPE IEB Impact Study
The Parr Center for Ethics and the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics are excited to announce the first-ever study on the impact of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. You can learn more about the study below. We thank you in advance for your consideration and participation, and for your help in learning more about the traits and dispositions this activity fosters.
Please complete this form to indicate your interest in the study.
About/FAQ
Who can participate in the Impact Study?
Any college student in the United States who is at a college or university that is participating in the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl this academic year, regardless of whether that student is involved with the program.
What does participation look like?
Participation involves completing four online surveys (about 5-20 minutes), completed at three-week intervals between October and December. These can be completed on any internet-enabled device on your own time. The study design requires two groups of students at each school: some IEB-participating students and some non-IEB students.
Why should my students participate in this research?
This study is a simple way to help the APPE improve the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl and advance its mission. In addition, thanks to financial support from the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, the Center for Practical Ethics at the University of Mississippi, and the John Templeton Foundation, we are pleased to be able to offer participation incentives. Each participant will receive $20 for full participation.
How can I get involved?
Please complete this form to indicate your interest in the study. You may also reach out to us with any questions or concerns you may have about the study design, student participation, etc. by emailing Dr. Deborah Mower (dsmower@olemiss.edu) or Dr. Michael Vazquez (michael.vazquez@unc.edu).
We are grateful to the Intellectual Humility Science project at Georgia State University, the John Templeton Foundation, the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics, and the Center for Practical Ethics at the University of Mississippi for their generous support for this study.
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Team
Michael Prinzing, Ph.D. // Consulting Research Scientist
Michael Prinzing is a philosopher and scientist who studies human flourishing. That is, his research integrates empirical and philosophical methods, with the aim of better understanding what it means to be well and live a good life. Michael received his PhD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2022 and is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Baylor University. Along with others at the Parr Center, Michael is organizing a quasi-experimental study to investigate how philosophy outreach programs might promote intellectual and civic virtues.
Michael Vazquez, Ph.D. // Director, Outreach
Michael Vazquez is a Teaching Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Director of Outreach at the Parr Center for Ethics. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania and specializes in ancient philosophy and the philosophy of education. He is committed to forging lasting, democratic, and collaborative partnerships between the academy and the community, and to cultivating the philosophical voices of people of all ages. In addition to the Executive Committee of the National High School Ethics Bowl, he serves on the Public Philosophy Committee of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and the Academic Advisory Board of the Philosophy Learning and Teaching Organization (PLATO). He is also a lecturer in Penn’s Mid-Career Doctoral Program in Educational Leadership.
Alex Richardson, Ph.D. // Director, National High School Ethics Bowl
Alex Richardson has been Director of the National High School Ethics Bowl since 2019. A philosopher working at the intersections of ethics, political philosophy, and the philosophy of education, Alex is an award-winning teacher and an advocate for public and pre-college philosophy pedagogy. His research interests are varied, but as of late concern issues in moral and civic education. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2021, where he wrote a dissertation on the liberal virtue of civility and its role in the non-ideal politics of democratic societies like our own. In addition to his work at the Parr Center, Alex teaches in the Department of Philosophy at Elon University. Alex also serves on Boards of Directors for the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics and Ethics Bowl Canada.
Deborah Mower, Ph.D. // University of Mississippi, APPE Board of Directors
Deborah S. Mower is the Mr. and Mrs. Alfred Hume Bryant Associate Professor of Ethics and an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Mississippi. She specializes in moral psychology, applied ethics and public policy, and moral education and assessment with a special interest in moral sensitivity, conviction, and civility. She coordinates the Dialogue Initiative at the University of Mississippi, and is the Chair for General Education Ethical Reasoning and Ethical Responsibility.
Kristen Fuhs Wells, M.B.A. // Executive Director, Association for Practical and Professional Ethics
Kristen Fuhs Wells has been Executive Director of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics since 2021. A two-time graduate of Butler University, she holds an undergraduate journalism degree in integrated communications and an MBA in marketing. She has also served on the university’s Young Alumni Board and frequently teaches undergrad courses as an adjunct professor. Kristen is active in the Hoosier Chapter of Public Relations Society of America and currently serves as chair of the PRSSA (Public Relations Student Society of America) committee. Kristen’s work has received six Pinnacle Awards from the association, most recently for the 2017 historic bar crawl and Frankenfest.
UNC IRB Study #: 23-2086. For more information, contact irb_questions@unc.edu.