Lisa Kretz

Lisa Kretz is an assistant professor of philosophy and Director of the Ethics program  at the University of Evansville. She teaches in the Ethics and Social Change major, working to empower her students to make the world a more humane, just, kind, and compassionate place.

1. What types of civic engagement work do your students engage in?

In the Introduction to Ethics class, students work on a volunteering and reflection assignment. In the upper-year Social and Political Philosophy and Environmental Ethics classes, students participate in an action project. With the action project, students identify a relevant local issue, come up with a plan to address it, share ideas with the rest of the class, perform the action, report back to class, and reflect on the experience. Projects range from river clean-ups to collections for homeless organizations to health information initiatives, and students have partnered with a multitude of local organizations for their projects. In the Ethics Capstone class students have the opportunity to work on a semester-long project, with a research element and an action element.

 

2. Give an example of a successful project.

I’ll give two!

Two students, for their Ethics Capstone project, decided to work on developing a Scholars for Syria Initiative at the University of Evansville, given their concern with the Syrian crisis. An educational speaker series was started which regularly drew crowds of 100 people, a Scholars for Syria student group came into being, and capacity building was achieved through bringing together different groups on campus and members of our local community concerned about the welfare of Syrians. One of the students who worked on the project, Joey Estes, said that his “ethics project done senior year…prepared me for community involvement and activism.”

The Scholars for Syria initiative continues today, through the loving efforts of Gail Vignola (Academic Director of the Writing Center) and volunteers from our student body, faculty, administration, and the local community.

Another example comes from a group of students in the Environmental Ethics class starting a Compost on Campus initiative the first year I taught at the University of Evansville. The group started a petition, quickly garnered enough petition signatures to get the issue discussed by student government, secured a meeting to discuss their work with the university President, and was interviewed by local media. The initiative has continued in ensuing classes over the last four years, and is now being pursued by the Environmental Concerns Organization (ECO) student group.

 

3. What do you think students gain from doing this civic engagement?

Far too often I think students are not provided with the information they need to a) recognize the scope of ethical challenges being faced in the world, b) recognize radical positive change is possible, and c) that they can contribute meaningfully to bringing about that positive change. I think civic engagement is a way to EMPOWER students. Through civic engagement, students garner in-depth knowledge regarding issues in their community including the levels of complexity that real-world issues inevitably involve, leadership skills, resilience, group-work skills, grit, and reflective skills. Students also experience the feeling that comes with actually making the world a better place. Importantly, students select the focus of their work because the goal is to empower them to engage with the world in a way that supports their own considered beliefs and values.

 

4. What does the civic engagement project offer to wider communities?

Wider local, national, and international communities benefit from student efforts through activism projects, capacity building, and establishing partnerships. The benefits of civic engagement, however, do not end when the class ends. Students continue to interact with their wider community and seek to apply their skills to make a more humane, just, and compassionate world.

 

5. Why do you choose to ask students to do civic engagement projects?

For many years I taught ethics and (unintentionally) left my students feeling overwhelmed by the amount of injustice and lack of care that still occur in the world. After doing some research on motivation, I realized the import of tending to the emotional impact of coursework on students. In particular, I started to think about the importance of fostering hope in the classroom. Remaining hopeful as an activist requires working with others who share your concerns, and success at achieving goals. Students set goals in class, then go out into the world and make a difference in small and large ways. A big part of the reason I ask students to do civic engagement projects is to empower them to act in the world in ways they see fit, after thoughtful reflection and the establishment of their considered beliefs. I want them to be able to look at the ethical harms that continue in the world. However, instead of seeing them get depressed and discouraged such that inaction follows, I want to help motivate them to start to change what they find problematic. I want them to know they can shape the world, and to provide them with the tools to do so.

 

6. How does your department or institution support your civic engagement work? How would you like to see them support you?

The Philosophy and Religion department just instituted a new Ethics and Social change major. It is an innovative new major that bridges the gap between ethical theory and ethical action. It facilitates an interdisciplinary academic experience meant to reflect students’ career goals, passions, and values. Both departmentally and institution-wide there is a great deal of support. The president of the University of Evansville, Tom Kazee, has said “At the University of Evansville, our core purpose is to provide students with life-transforming educational experiences that prepare them to engage the world as informed, ethical, and productive citizens,” and he notes that the Ethics and Social Change major “is truly a curricular expression of the essence of a UE education.”

 

7. What is your favorite quote and why?

“Listen to the Mustn’ts, child, listen to the Don’ts. Listen to the Shouldn’ts, the Impossibles, the Won’ts. Listen to the Never Haves, then listen close to me. Anything can happen, child, Anything can be.” —Shel Silverstein. The reason this is one of my favorite quotes right now is that I think we as a species could really benefit from stretching our moral imaginations beyond current perceived limitations. Whenever I read this I smile and feel hopeful.

 

8. What gets you out of bed in the morning? What is your passion?

I think the best thing humans can do is respond to the world with love. What makes me most excited is when I feel that I have, in some way, contributed to making the world a more humane, just, kind, and compassionate place. Every morning provides another opportunity. Sharing ethical wisdom with students is an activity I am passionate about, and so is constantly exploring through research what folks think and feel about ethics. You can also find me hanging out with trees, flowers, and non-human animals in my garden; seeking out nature and hiking and biking; making art; peaceful protesting; volunteering; reading and writing poetry; and spending time with my life-partner, friends, and family.

 

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