Program on Global Ethics and Social Trust

06/02/2026

What is the role of universities in rebuilding public trust during this time of decreasing trust in institutions?

We are proud to see Chris Higgins, member of the GEST Working Group on Democracy, Governance, and Education, and Chair of the Department of Formative Education at Boston College, participate in this timely roundtable hosted by Luiss Guido Carli University and promoted by Reset DOC Dialogues on Civilizations .

According to Higgins, "the task is to revive the public purpose of higher education: creating spaces where people experience and practice that democratic way of life." To do so, universities must "shape character—what one might even call virtue—including respect for others, the ability to confront inherited prejudices, and to understand difference and power."

Over the course of two years, the GEST Working Group on Democracy, Governance, and Education brought together experts in politics, education, history, law, ethics, journalism, and communication to think seriously about the threats we face and the prospects for recovery through education strategies.

The issues discussed in this interview will be taken up in the roundtable “Reclaiming Legitimacy: Universities, Elites, and Democratic Renewal” (May 14, 6–8 PM, Rome), held as part of an international seminar on higher education.   At a moment when universities are increasingly caught between...

05/22/2026

A recent analysis in The Lancet Global Health examines the relationship between physical inactivity and high temperature, predicting increases in deaths and productivity loss caused by increasing temperatures. Oscar Melo, a member of the GEST WG on Climate Change and Migration, contributed to this article by The Lancet Global Health

Rising temperatures are projected to increase the prevalence of physical inactivity, translating into additional premature deaths and productivity losses, especially in tropical regions. Prioritising heat-adaptive urban design, subsidised climate-controlled exercise facilities, and targeted heat-ris...

05/21/2026

Hanqin Tian, member of the GEST WG on Climate Change and Migration, was among 150 global researchers and institutional leaders invited to attend the inaugural convening of the Global Alliance for Integral Ecology on March 9 and 10 in Rome.

The Global Alliance is envisioned as a hub for connecting, amplifying, and spearheading research, curriculum, and action initiatives for a sustainable future.

Three BC scholars attend the inaugural convening focused on action initiatives for a sustainable future

05/20/2026

In early March, members of the GEST Working Group on Democracy, Governance, and Education (DGE) met during a weeklong fact-finding mission organized by the Clough Center in Bogota, Colombia. Jonathan Laurence, Director of the Clough Center and chair of the DGE working group, and Francisco de Roux, a member of the DGE working group and former head of the Colombia Truth Commission, participated in the mission, which also included faculty and students from the Clough Center, and former Colombian presidents Juan Manuel Santos and Ernesto Samper Pizano.

The event focused on the theme of Democratic Resilience. Laurence commented, “None of us will forget seeing former enemies sit down, acknowledge one another’s suffering and vow to exit the cycle of revenge. By placing victims at the center of its peace process and offering lighter sentences to those who acknowledge culpability, Colombia shows one way that a hopelessly polarized conflict can end —and reminds us that mutual commitment to democratic institutions is necessary to maintaining peace.”

Read the Report:https://www.bc.edu/content/dam/bc1/centers/clough/annual_reports/colombia%20report.pdf