Pace University’s Center for Ethical Thinking was founded in 1981 through a grant made by the Dyson Foundation, and further supported through a fund established by Charles H. Dyson in 1989. After a hiatus, the CET relaunched in 2025.
The newly reinvigorated and reimagined CET has several aims consistent with the original mission of the Center, including:
bringing together intellectuals doing innovative, interdisciplinary work in ethics and political theory and sharing that work with the Pace community and the broader public
supporting student research through fellowships and mentorships in order to train the next generation of public intellectuals
providing Pace’s students with experiential learning opportunities that take their academic work beyond the classroom
Student Research
The CET supports student research through three different opportunities:
Research Apprenticeships give students the opportunity to work with a faculty mentor on that faculty member’s research, receiving a hands-on orientation to research methods and writing in philosophy. This opportunity is excellent preparation for students who aspire to develop their own original research projects. This apprenticeship counts for credit toward the Philosophy & Religious Studies major.
Research Fellowships support students proposing an independent project of original research related to the Center for Ethical Thinking. Students are paired with a faculty mentor and receive a stipend to cover research expenses. This fellowship counts for credit toward the Philosophy & Religious Studies major.
Summer Research Fellowships support intensive independent summer research under faculty mentorship for advanced students, particularly those aspiring to graduate study in philosophy.
Student Leadership
Opportunities
The CET offers multiple paid positions in which a passion for philosophy and the humanities goes hand in hand with rigorous professional development. The mentorship we provide is intensive, with a focus on organization, accountability, teamwork, problem-solving, professional written and oral communication, marketing, and community outreach. These positions are open to all Pace University students.
The CET Senior and Associate Student Directors work closely with the Faculty Director to develop programming, including the Third Thursdays Speaker Series, plan and organize CET events, and promote the Center within Pace and to the broader community.
The CET Videographer and Editor records CET events, particularly the Third Thursdays Speaker Series, and edits footage for distribution through YouTube and social media. They work closely with the invited speakers to prepare them for live recording and create dynamic media content to promote the CET.
The CET Podcast Team
The original mission of the CET emphasizes, in the words of then-Dyson Dean Joseph E. Houle, establishing “public ethics as a norm” for Pace University and “manifesting the comprehensive nature of the University by addressing audiences from other segments of the community and the general public.”
Forging a link to the wider public is not only a responsibility of the university, but also an opportunity for students to gain one of the most vital transferable skills they can acquire in their time at Pace: the ability to make complex ideas accessible and to communicate the stakes of those ideas in ways that lead to social transformation. The CET Podcast Team provides an opportunity for students to do precisely this kind of work.
In 2025-2026, the CET Podcast Team, consisting of 10 students under the direction of Dr. Brandyn Heppard, learned about all aspects of podcast production, including recording, editing, and distribution, and released four student podcasts covering topics like “The Philosophy of Conflict” and “Performance and Resistance.”
As we move into the 2026-2027 academic year, we will focus on training students in background research and interview skills so that we can take advantage of our talented Pace Faculty as well as the scholars coming through the CET to produce professional podcasts with leading experts on issues of critical contemporary importance.
