CSLR receives gift for international ethics and leadership development

The four-year project will focus on leadership impact on law, religion, health, and security, incorporating international experts.

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion (CSLR) has received a $1.8M charitable gift from the MirYam Institute to fund a new program called The MirYam Project on International Ethics & Leadership: Law, Religion, Health & Security.

This four-year undertaking will be led by Dr. Ira Bedzow 14G, in collaboration with the Jewish Legal Studies Program at CSLR, directed by Michael J. Broyde, professor of law, director of the SJD Program, and Berman Projects Director at Emory Law’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion. The project will develop future leaders in public service, government, industry, health care, and community by providing students with exceptional curricular and extra-curricular programming, mentoring, and international travel to Israel. Students will interact with top academics and industry/social leaders from the United States, the State of Israel, and throughout the globe. 

The focus of the curriculum is values-driven leadership, informed by best international practices across a range of sectors. Students will study strategic and critical thinking, medical and legal diplomacy and practice, and implementation strategies in order to become leaders on national and international issues, implementing ethical and socially conscious innovation. The gift comes at an important time for Emory Law, as the law school seeks to enhance interdisciplinary connections within its growing health law program. 

“This bold new project, generously funded by the MirYam Institute, will provide path-breaking new scholarship and campus-wide leadership on fundamental questions of law, religion ethics, health care, security, and the human condition,” said CSLR director John Witte Jr. “Our Center is delighted to host this project and to welcome Ira Bedzow as project leader. He brings rare intellectual gifts, proven leadership skills, and an elegant pen.” 

Professor Broyde added, “The relationship between leadership and ethics has yet to be fully explored and we hope to do so in this project with a focus on law, religion, health, and security. Dr. Bedzow’s expertise in ethics and values-driven leadership will provide important perspectives for faculty and students.” 

“Dr. Bedzow brings a unique interdisciplinary lens to his work,” said MirYam Institute co-founders Benjamin Anthony and Rozita Pnini. “His deep knowledge of ethics is matched by his broad interests in the various fields that impact how leaders make and carry out decisions. His expertise makes him the ideal bridge between the Emory faculty, teaching experts at The MirYam Institute, and the graduate student body at Emory. His academic and personal example is the right combination to mentor a rising generation of American and international leaders. The MirYam Institute is delighted to bring forth the possibility to establish this innovative approach to cultivating ethical leadership.” 

“Working with the interdisciplinary faculty at Emory and with the experts and leaders within the MirYam Institute network creates a deep bench to produce a robust program in ethical leadership training. The students who go through this program will change the world for the better,” said Bedzow. 

Bedzow will be the Director of The MirYam Institute Project in International Ethics and Leadership and Head of the Unit of the International Chair in Bioethics (World Medical Association Cooperation Centre) at Emory’s Center for the Study of Law and Religion. He is also a contributor at the MirYam Institute, a senior scholar of the Aspen Center for Social Values, co-director of the Maimonides Institute for Medicine, Ethics and the Holocaust (MIMEH), and a regular contributor in Forbes for their Diversity, Equity and Inclusion section. He is also an Orthodox rabbi (yoreh yoreh, yadin yadin). He received his PhD in religion from Emory University in 2014, an MA in humanities from the University of Chicago and a BA in political science with foci in political theory and political economy from Princeton University. 

The MirYam Institute is the premier international forum for Israeli-focused dialogue, discussion, and debate. It provides a platform for top-tier Israeli experts of diverse and varied perspectives and areas of expertise who collaborate and share their insights and exchange their common and divergent opinions about the State of Israel. The MirYam Insititute constantly assesses Israel’s place among the community of nations and its global contribution. The MirYam Institute champions and fosters civil discourse through robust debate. 

The Center for the Study of Law and Religion at Emory University School of Law was founded in 1982 to produce and promote path-breaking scholarship, teaching, and public programs on the interaction of law and religion around the world. 

 

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