Markkula Center for Applied Ethics

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is an academic and public-facing ethics center at Santa Clara University, a Jesuit institution in California. It was established through the initiative of Manuel Velasquez, a faculty member in the university's School of Business, with financial support from Mike Markkula, an early Apple investor, and his wife, Linda Markkula. The center's work translates philosophical and moral reasoning into practical frameworks, educational resources, research, institutional programs, and public discussion. Rather than operating as a commercial consumer brand, the center functions as a university-based source of expertise and training. Its work covers a broad set of applied-ethics fields, including bioethics, business and organizational ethics, campus ethics, government ethics, internet ethics, journalism and media ethics, leadership ethics, religious and Catholic ethics, technology ethics, and related public-policy questions. Through these programs, it works with students, faculty, businesses, nonprofit organizations, healthcare institutions, public officials, journalists, technology organizations, and other professional communities. The center's bioethics activities include collaboration with hospitals and hospices on clinical-ethics policies and difficult medical decisions. Topics have included organ donation after cardiac death, artificial nutrition and hydration, culturally competent care, pandemic ethics, and decision-making for patients who are unrepresented or unable to speak for themselves. Partner institutions have also supported healthcare internships for undergraduates. In business and leadership ethics, the center convenes executives and scholars through the Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership and provides tools for examining organizational culture. Its work addresses how boards, managers, and institutions can identify ethical risks and build systems that support responsible conduct. Government-ethics programming examines conflicts of interest, gifts and bribery, cronyism, lobbying, transparency, and the private conduct of public officials. An Ethics Roundtable gives locally elected officials an opportunity to discuss these issues in a recurring forum. The center's technology and internet ethics work addresses privacy, cybersecurity, social media, data governance, search engines, video games, privacy by design, artificial intelligence, human enhancement, transhumanism, space ethics, and catastrophic or existential risk. It has also worked with organizations such as the Partnership on AI and creates teaching materials for universities and corporations. Its journalism and media ethics work focuses on digital gatekeeping, misinformation, disinformation, polarization, and ways to improve public engagement with journalism. On the Santa Clara campus, the center supports applied-ethics research and student activity through mechanisms such as Hackworth Grants for faculty and students and Hackworth Fellowships for students developing peer-facing ethics initiatives. It also sponsors presentations and curriculum across areas such as technology, diversity, immigration, law, and engineering. Its religious and Catholic ethics work reflects the university's Jesuit context while encouraging dialogue across religious traditions. The center has also demonstrated an interest in practical risk analysis. From 1996 through 2001, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute used a systematic approach associated with the center to develop 11 earthquake-risk case studies. In 2020, the center formed a New Journalism and Media Ethics Council to examine misinformation, disinformation, and the role of journalism in politically polarized societies. Reference material also identifies a 2026 series of papers on prediction-market ethics, although the timing and publication details should be verified against the center's current archive.

The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics was created at Santa Clara University as a university-based effort to make ethical reasoning useful in professional and public decision-making. Its creation is associated with Manuel Velasquez, a member of the university's School of Business, and with philanthropic support from Mike Markkula and Linda Markkula. Mike Markkula was an early investor in Apple, but the center is an academic institution of Santa Clara University rather than an Apple entity. The center developed an interdisciplinary model in which ethical analysis is connected to concrete institutional choices. Instead of limiting its work to abstract moral theory, it produces educational materials, case studies, research, discussion forums, fellowships, grants, and professional programs. This model has allowed it to address questions that arise in healthcare, business, government, education, journalism, media, religion, and technology. One early practical application involved earthquake risk. Between 1996 and 2001, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute used a systematic approach developed by the center to prepare 11 case studies related to earthquake risk. This work illustrates the center's broader method: identifying stakeholders, clarifying values, examining competing obligations, and applying ethical reasoning to decisions involving uncertainty and potential harm. The center's bioethics program has worked with hospitals and hospices on clinical ethics and policy questions. Its research topics have included organ donation after cardiac death, artificial nutrition and hydration, culturally competent care, pandemic ethics, and medical decision-making for patients who are unrepresented or otherwise unable to advocate for themselves. Relationships with healthcare institutions have also created internship opportunities for Santa Clara undergraduates. In business and organizational ethics, the center created a partnership bringing together business executives and ethics scholars from Santa Clara and other Bay Area institutions. The partnership focuses on ethical organizational cultures and on ways boards and leaders can evaluate and improve institutional conduct. Related leadership-ethics work serves businesses, nonprofits, governments, and other organizations. Campus-facing activity has included Hackworth Grants for faculty and students researching applied ethics and Hackworth Fellowships for students who want to develop ethics programs for their peers. The center has also supported presentations and curriculum related to technology, diversity, immigration, law, and other fields. Its campus work draws on expertise from numerous Santa Clara faculty members across disciplines. The center's government-ethics program addresses conflicts of interest, gifts and bribes, cronyism, lobbying, transparency, and the personal conduct of public officials. Its Ethics Roundtable provides a recurring discussion setting for mayors, city council members, county supervisors, and officials from special districts. In digital and technology ethics, the center has examined privacy, social media, cybersecurity, data, search engines, video games, privacy by design, artificial intelligence, human enhancement, transhumanism, space ethics, and catastrophic or existential risk. It has also developed educational resources and engaged with organizations including the Partnership on AI. Journalism and media ethics became an increasingly visible area of work as digital distribution changed the relationship among journalists, editors, technologists, and audiences. In 2020, the center formed a New Journalism and Media Ethics Council to consider misinformation, disinformation, and journalism's role in polarized societies. Its wider journalism program seeks to help the public engage more effectively with news organizations while helping media professionals address complex issues in the digital environment. As a Jesuit university center, it also maintains an interest in religious and Catholic ethics, moral character, and dialogue among different religious traditions. The center's subject areas have consequently expanded beyond traditional professional ethics into questions raised by new technologies and emerging social institutions. Reference material further attributes a 2026 paper series on prediction-market ethics to the center, but that item should be checked against an authoritative publication archive before being treated as confirmed.

• 2026

  Prediction-market ethics papers

  [1]Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org

  Reference material identifies a series of papers on prediction-market ethics; the publication record requires verification.

• 2020

  New Journalism and Media Ethics Council established

  [1]Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org

  The center created a council addressing misinformation, disinformation, and journalism's responsibilities in polarized societies.

• 2001

  Earthquake-risk case-study program concludes

  [1]Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org

  The earthquake-risk initiative had produced 11 case studies by the end of the 1996–2001 period.

• 1996

  Earthquake-risk case-study program begins

  [1]Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org

  The Earthquake Engineering Research Institute began using a systematic approach associated with the center to develop applied case studies on earthquake risk.

• Creation at Santa Clara University

  [1]Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org

  The center was created at Santa Clara University through the initiative of Manuel Velasquez and funding from Mike and Linda Markkula.

A university-based, interdisciplinary applied-ethics institution that connects moral reasoning with practical decisions in organizations, professional fields, public policy, healthcare, journalism, and technology.

• Applied-ethics program

  Bioethics

  A healthcare-focused program addressing clinical ethics, medical decision-making, organ donation after cardiac death, artificial nutrition and hydration, culturally competent care, pandemic ethics, and decisions involving patients who are unrepresented or unable to make their wishes known.

• Professional ethics program

  Business and Organizational Ethics Partnership

  A forum connecting business executives with ethics scholars to examine ethical organizational cultures, leadership responsibilities, governance, and methods for assessing ethical conduct within institutions.

• Higher-education ethics program

  Campus Ethics

  A campus program supporting faculty and student research, peer ethics initiatives, public presentations, and curricular work across fields such as technology, diversity, immigration, law, literature, engineering, and other disciplines.

• Public-sector ethics program

  Government Ethics

  A program examining conflicts of interest, gifts and bribery, cronyism, lobbying, transparency, and the personal conduct of public officials, including through the center's Ethics Roundtable for local officials.

• Digital and technology ethics program

  Internet and Technology Ethics

  A broad area addressing privacy, data, social media, cybersecurity, search engines, video games, privacy by design, artificial intelligence, human enhancement, transhumanism, space ethics, and global catastrophic or existential risk.

• Media ethics program

  Journalism and Media Ethics

  A program focused on digital-era journalism, changing forms of gatekeeping, public engagement with media, misinformation, disinformation, polarization, and the ethical responsibilities of journalists, editors, technologists, and platforms.

• Academic grant and fellowship program

  Hackworth Grants and Fellowships

  Funding and fellowship mechanisms supporting applied-ethics research by faculty and students, as well as student-led ethics programs designed for the campus community.

• 2020New Journalism and Media Ethics Council

  United States · Digital media and journalism communities

  The center formed a council to study misinformation, disinformation, and journalism's role in societies experiencing political polarization.

  Outcome. The council became part of the center's journalism and media ethics work; specific measurable outcomes are not provided in the reference material.

  Source

• 2020

  Expand institutional focus on journalism and media ethicsStrategy

  Background

  The growth of misinformation, disinformation, digital media, and political polarization created a need for structured ethical analysis of journalism's public role.

  Action taken

  The center established the New Journalism and Media Ethics Council.

  Aftermath

  The council supported the center's continuing work on journalism, public engagement, and ethical responses to a changing digital information environment.

  Source

1. 1Markkula Center for Applied Ethicsen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Markkula Center for Applied Ethics official websitescu.edu