Hutton Lectureship to Focus on Human Body Ethics

CINCINNATI—The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine is celebrating its fifth year as host to the Hutton Lectureship in Ethics. This year’s event takes place on Thursday, March 5, noon to 1 p.m. at Kresge Auditorium, and features esteemed speaker Michael Sandel, DPhil, whose lecture is titled: “How Should We Treat the Human Body? Ethical Dilemmas and Public Controversies.” 

The Hutton Lectureship in Ethics was established by the college to honor John J. Hutton, MD, who was a former dean and devoted 15 years of leadership there. In 2002, Hutton stepped down to focus on research in human molecular biology with an emphasis on the analysis of gene expression. He then became professor and director of UC’s department of pediatrics in the division of biomedical informatics in June 2005.   

The lectureship, established in 2004, “encourages the development and maintenance of the highest standards of personal medical ethics within the University of Cincinnati Academic Health Center community.”  

This lecture will focus on the ethical treatment of the human body for scientific purposes, and is timely as it falls on the heels of the controversial “Bodies …The Exhibition” at the Cincinnati Museum Center, says organizer Denise Gibson, PhD, assistant dean, academic support, and associate professor, clinical psychiatry.

The lecture coincides with the installation of 10 senior medical students into the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) at the College of Medicine for their demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. Sandel is also the featured speaker at the GHHS Recognition Dinner and Induction Ceremony on March 4.        

Sandal is the Anne T. and Robert M. Bass Professor of Government at Harvard University. He has lectured widely across the continents and his undergraduate course “Justice” has enrolled about 14,000 students, one of the largest enrollments of any lecture course in Harvard’s history. In the fall of 2009, public television will air a 12-part series based on his course. He is the author of many books, including The Case Against Perfection: Ethics in the Age of Genetic Engineering.  His new book, Justice: What We Owe One Another, comes out in the fall of 2009. From 2002-2005, he served on the President’s Council on Bioethics, a national body appointed by the president of the United States to examine the ethical implications of new biomedical technologies.

Sandal is a 1975 graduate of Brandeis University and received his doctorate in 1981 from Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar.