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The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute
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Background Edinboro University has been a center for bioethics since the beginning of the discipline in 1969. Dr. James F. Drane began work in bioethics at Edinboro University that year after returning from a trip around the world, researching public policies in different cultures on ethical issues in medicine. Since then, he has worked to promote bioethics in the U.S. and Latin America. In 2002, he was named one of the founders of the discipline of bioethics at The International Bioethics Conference in Brasilia. Dr. Drane has authored 20 books. More Humane Medicine: A Liberal Catholic Bioethics received the outstanding Book of the Year Award, 2004, from Independent Publishers. It was named “Best Health Book.” |
Purpose
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute is designed to continue his work in bioethics at Edinboro University and throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. It reflects the commitment of Edinboro University to strengthen the bonds between medicine and morality, science and ethics.
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Edinboro University has been a center for bioethics since the beginning of the discipline in 1969. Dr. James F. Drane began work in bioethics at Edinboro University that year after returning from a trip around the world, researching public policies in different cultures on ethical issues in medicine. Since then, he has worked to promote bioethics in the U.S. and Latin America. In 2002, he was named one of the founders of the discipline of bioethics at The International Bioethics Conference in Brasilia. Dr. Drane has authored 20 books. More Humane Medicine: A Liberal Catholic Bioethics received the outstanding Book of the Year Award, 2004, from Independent Publishers. It was name “Best Health Book.”. |
The James F. Drane Institute gives concrete form to the relationship between medicine and ethics. It is dedicated to promoting this relationship in society and in university disciplines. Issues of medicine are related to diverse academic disciplines because health in today’s western culture is a pervasive concern. Health and medical treatments today are what salvation and religious belief were in medieval times.
For a university to promote biological sciences and at the same time to ignore the associated ethical concerns would be academically irresponsible. The ethical issues related to scientific disciplines are everywhere in evidence. The academic disciplines may be more or less overtly connect to health, but all have to be concerned about ethics.
Historically, the impact of a university on the surrounding community was always related to the university’s focus on ethics. Civility is one ethical term for this historical influence. Bioethics today is a university discipline which served the community by focusing on the relationship between science and ethics, medicine, and the humane treatment of patients.
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute aspires to contribute to civil communities in Latin America and the Caribbean by creating a place, within a university environment, where students and scholars can do research in bioethics which will advance the discipline academically and contribute to their home communities.
What we offer
The James F. Drane Bioethics Institute at Edinboro University provides a place for students and scholars from Latin America and the Caribbean to conduct research in bioethics which will contribute to the development of a distinct Latin American and Caribbean Bioethics, and then to interdisciplinary dialogue with bioethicists from different cultures.
Russell B. Roth, former president of the American Medical Association, worked with James F. Drane on bioethics issues in the early days of the discipline. Persons accepted for a stay at the Bioethics Institute will be helped financially from an endowment created by Dr. Roth and others. Scholars and students who are accepted will have access to university library materials as well as the papers, books, and journals of Dr. Drane.
Financial Aid
Senior scholars may apply for a stay at the Institute and, if accepted, will receive a stipend of $2,000 per month. Students will be offered a stipend of $1,250 per month. Up to $1000 will be provided to offset travel expenses. Resident students and scholars will be offered library assistance, computer access, study space, and be welcomed at the faculty dinging facility. The Institute enjoys a relationship with the Pan American Health Organization. Following completion of their project at Edinboro University, grant applicants may also be offered an opportunity to participate in PAHO projects.
Some student housing will be available on campus and if not, visitors will receive help from university staff for finding housing off campus. Food and lodging and other expenses incurred while in residence will be paid from the scholarship stipend. Students and scholars will be responsible for visa requirements, health care insurance, and any additional travel expenses. Residency at the Institute can range from one to three months or more.
Qualifications
Selection for residency at the Institute is open both to senior scholars and younger students interested in doing research in bioethics. Senior Scholars may be physicians, biologists, social scientists, lawyers, philosophers, theologians or other academicians.
Younger students might be enrolled in medical school, a graduate program, preparing a doctoral dissertation, or considering the integration of bioethics with their area of studies. Students must have finished an undergraduate degree. Scholars must have a doctoral degree and research experience. It is expected that younger students and senior scholars will have the support of the academic institution where they are either enrolled or employed.
Selection Process
With the help of a committee, selections will be based on the quality of a proposed project, importance of the project, qualifications of the applicant, suitability of the Institute to provide needed services. Special consideration will be given to research projects addressing public health issues and projects of the Pan American Health Organization. A Curriculum Vitae of each applicant will be required, as well as a letter of support from one’s academic institution or professional association. Samples of published work or reviews of past projects should also be included.
Responsibilities
Scholars and students who receive a Russell B. Roth Scholarship and complete their projects will be designated James F. Drane Institute Scholars. They will be expected to complete their projects during their stay. Completed papers may be submitted for publication at one of PAHO’s journals. The Institute must be cited when works are published. After finishing their stay, scholars and students will be encouraged to identify other persons interested in doing similar work at the Institute. Their recommendations will strengthen the applications of future residents.
Scholars will be encouraged to establish contact with members of the Edinboro family, especially in the Latin American Studies Program. Faculty of the Latin American Studies program may be interested in arranging meetings with Institute students and scholars so that visitors on campus may share their academic interests and experiences with U.S. students and faculty.
Location
Edinboro University is in northwestern Pennsylvania, approximately 100 miles from Pittsburgh, Pa., Cleveland, Ohio, and Buffalo, New York. The borough of Edinboro is a small town a few miles south of Lake Erie. It is a quiet, peaceful place. Winters are not bitterly cold, but are snow packed. Summers are ideally pleasant.
