Whither Utility and Duty? A Case for Virtue in Community College Administration

Abstract

Recent improprieties by community college administrators have scarred the public trust. Efforts to secure against maladministration are firmly rooted in utilitarian and deontological ethics. In this article, the authors argue that these common approaches cannot remedy maladministration in the community college because utilitarianism and deontology are part of the problem and, therefore, cannot be part of the solution. Instead, the authors make the case that virtue ethics provides the best framework for moral community college administration while also being the best means of restoring public trust.

Keywords

administrator behavior administrators antisocial behavior deontological ethics utilitarian ethics virtue ethics

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