The Roger Mudd Center for Ethics
The Roger Mudd Center for Ethics advances dialogue, teaching, and research about issues of public and professional ethics across the University.
Yearly Ethics Theme
Memory, Mind, and Morality
Our 2026-2027 series will explore the ethical dimensions of memory. Rather than treating memory as a passive record of the past, the series examines it as an active, interpretive process that shapes how individuals and communities understand responsibility, identity, and justice. Because remembering is inseparable from forgetting, the yearlong program offers opportunities to reflect on how acts of remembering and forgetting—and the choices they entail—shape the moral contours of our lives.
Upcoming Public Events
The Mudd Center
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Washington and Lee University
209 Mattingly House
Lexington, VA 24450
Maya Lin is the Next Speaker in the Mudd Lecture Series
The architect and artist, who designed the Vietnam Veterans Memorial when she was 21, will give a lecture on Sept. 17 in Keller Theatre.
W&L’s Mudd Center to Explore ‘Memory, Mind, and Morality’ in New Series
The Mudd Center’s 2026-2027 lecture series will address questions of memory and how the acts of remembering and forgetting can shape the moral contours of our lives.
Dr. Daphne Miller is the Next Speaker in the Mudd Lecture Series
The physician and clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco will give a lecture on March 19 in Stackhouse Theater.
The Atlantic’s Jeffrey Goldberg to Speak at W&L
As part of the Mudd Center’s Leadership Lab, Goldberg and W&L’s Eric Deggans will discuss journalism, ethics and leadership in the modern age on March 17.
Mudd Lecture Series to Explore Conservation Practice of Rewilding
The day-long symposium will take place on Feb. 12 and feature talks by faculty and community members.
Benjamin Lee is the Next Speaker in the Mudd Lecture Series
The professor of electrical and systems engineering and of computer and information science at the University of Pennsylvania will give a lecture on Jan. 22 in Stackhouse Theater.
W&L’s Mudd Center Announces Next Leadership Lab
Judge Michael Luttig ’76, P’14 and Lewis Powell III ’74, P’18, P’20 will lead a discussion on power and accountability on Nov. 13.
Benjamin Backer is the Next Speaker in the Mudd Lecture Series
Backer, founder and CEO of Nature is Nonpartisan, will give a lecture on Oct. 28 in Stackhouse Theater.
W&L’s Mudd Center Presents Screening of ‘Anthropocene: The Human Epoch’
The Sept. 30 screening features the work of Edward Burtynsky, whose solo exhibition is on view at the Reeves Museum of Ceramics.
A Natural Segue
“Ralph commented when he made his gift that he hopes it will inspire others to follow suit.”
W&L’s Mudd Center Announces 2025-26 Lecture Series
“Taking Place: Land Use and Environmental Impact” kicks off Sept. 11 with a keynote address by political scientist Thea Riofrancos.
Melissa Kerin Quoted in ProPublica Article
The professor of art history and director of the Mudd Center for Ethics offered her opinion on the nuances of the return of a Buddha sculpture by the Art Institute of Chicago to the Government of Nepal.