News & Ideas

One hopes that college environs instill a sense of the importance of integrity—especially academic. Here at Santa Clara, to underscore that point, in 2015 the University inaugurated an official Academic Integrity Pledge for students. But academics present only some of the ethical territory (Cheat on a test? Download a paper?) a college student is forced to navigate. From alcohol abuse, dating apps and the lure of hookups, to discrimination and sexual assault—how do you nurture an ethical self?

To answer that, psychologists Thomas G. Plante and Lori G. Plante wrote Graduating with Honor: Best Practices to Promote Ethics Development in College Students (Praeger). Tom Plante is the Augustin Cardinal Bea, S.J. University Professor and director of the Spirituality and Health Institute at SCU, and wife Lori was a clinical faculty member in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine. They also bring experience as parents. Their goal: “Provide a model for imparting the skills of ethical decision-making to college students during a time of great transition, temptation, and unprecedented freedom.”