Mount Holyoke president-elect Lynn Pasquerella ’80 answers your questions
In response to a question about Lynn’s field of scholarly expertise:
Ethics is a branch of philosophy that deals with the study of correct conduct. When I received my Ph.D. in philosophy from Brown University, one of my areas of specialization was ethics. I studied both ethical theory and applied ethics, which centers on how we can apply ethical principles in an attempt to resolve specific moral dilemmas. The dilemmas I focus on in my scholarship relate to medicine, law, and public administration. In particular, I address beginning- and end-of-life issues in medicine and conditions of confinement, or prisoners’ rights, in the area of legal ethics. As part of my outreach, I have served on hospital ethics boards and institutional review boards for human-subject research, as well as conducted ethics training for lawyers and public officials. Ethicists are generally considered capable of drawing upon professional expertise in making judgments that are trusted by specific communities, such as the philosophical, medical, or legal community.
In response to a question about MHC current majors and opportunities for the study of Asian religions:
To find out more about specific majors, you can look on Mount Holyoke’s Web site under the department listings. There will be contact information for the chairs of each department. There are courses in Asian religions in both the Asian studies and religion departments at the College. Someone interested in Asian religions would be able to create a self-designed major drawing upon courses in these two areas and beyond.
Once I am on campus, I hope to learn about the new disciplines by coming to know individuals who study and teach them. In fact, my first task will be to discover community members’ goals for themselves and the College so that we can move forward toward achieving our common objectives. I am looking forward to becoming reacquainted with the intellectual vibrancy of the Mount Holyoke community by getting to know the people who comprise it.
In response to a question about Lynn’s experience with fundraising and with cultivating relationships with corporations and foundations:
Yes, I have a commitment to and experience partnering with a variety of organizations, including large corporations, to enhance education. One of the administrative positions I held was as a vice provost for research at a major university. In that capacity, I worked with corporations at the local, regional, national, and international levels to create teaching, research, and administrative programs and garner resources through collaboration. My current position as provost at the University of Hartford has also afforded the opportunity to establish relationships with businesses and industries to strengthen our efforts in institutional advancement, or fundraising, and secure extramural funds to support a variety of initiatives. Perhaps most importantly, I have partnered with large corporate entities to provide scholarship and fellowship support for students. I love fundraising and am very much looking forward to telling Mount Holyoke’s profound and compelling story.
Videos of President-Elect Lynn Pasquerella ’80
You can share the campus’s excitement on the day President-Elect Lynn Pasquerella ’80 was introduced to the campus community, and learn about her views on the topics below, through these videos created by Clarity Guerra ’09.
Meet MHC’s New President: Lynn Pasquerella
Lynn Pasquerella…on liberal learning
Lynn Pasquerella…on MHC alumnae
January 22, 2010
