James Konow is a Professor of Economics at Loyola Marymount University, the former Chair of Economics and Ethics at Kiel University, Germany, and a 2023 – 2024 Faculty Fellow at the Center for Ethics. Professor Konow’s research primarily focuses on experimental and theoretical ethics analyses and is informed by economics, philosophy, and psychology.

Eric Wiland is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Missouri, St. Louis, and a 2023 – 2024 Faculty Fellow at the Center for Ethics. Professor Wiland’s research primarily focuses on ethics and practical reason with several overlapping topics such as advice and moral testimony, reasons for action, objective and indirect moral theories, and, most recently, well-being.

Stan Nguyen Oklobdzija, PhD, is Director of the Center for Public Policy Research and Assistant Professor of Political Science. 

For the 2023 Mary C. Parker Yates Lecture, The Murphy Institute welcomed Kai Ryssdal, host and senior editor of American Public Media’s Marketplace, a radio program dedicated to business and the economy that reaches over 11 million listeners each week on over 800 public radio stations. Mr. Ryssdal, an award-winning journalist, covers business and the economy in ways that increase economic intelligence for all, across all communities. Mr. Ryssdal is also the co-host of the podcast Make Me Smart.

Jennifer Beers, PhD, joined The Murphy Institute as Assistant Director of the Center for Ethics in April 2023. A longtime affiliate of Tulane, Dr. Beers served as Assistant Director in the Academic Advising Center before moving to the Honors Program to develop and manage Tulane's programs to support students who pursued nationally competitive scholarships. Most recently, she played a critical role establishing Newcomb-Tulane College’s Office of Fellowship Advising, where she served as its Assistant Director. Dr.