David R. Keller was Director of the Center for the Study of Ethics from 1999 until
his untimely passing in 2013. He received a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University
of Georgia under the guidance of Frederick Ferre. David's work focused on environmental
ethics and he advocated for philosophers, scientists, and policymakers to work together
for environmental stewardship.
He served as a founding board member of the Society for Ethics Across the Curriculum and served as editor of its journal, Teaching Ethics. David published four books: Ecology and Justice—Citizenship in Biotic Communities (Springer, 2019), Ethics in Action: A Case-Based Approach (Wiley-Blackwell, 2009), and the edited volumes Environmental Ethics: The Big Questions (Wiley-Blackwell, 2010) and The Philosophy of Ecology: From Science to Synthesis (University of Georgia Press, 2000).
As director of the Center for the Study of Ethics, David established the Center as a forum for academic and civic dialogue. His talent for communicating across the ideological spectrum enhanced the Center's programs, as evidenced by his convening the key parties in the Michael Moore controversy of 2004.
Beginning in 2008, he led the Utah Democracy Project, a federally appropriated program that aimed to cultivate political literacy and political engagement. In addition to his academic work, David was a public intellectual who contributed editorials to local publications on a range of ethical issues.
In memory of our beloved colleague, the Center for the Study of Ethics hosts the annual David R. Keller Symposium on Environmental Ethics and supports the David R. Keller Sustainability Prize given to community organizations in support of exceptional innovation and leadership on sustainability issues.
