PubPol 580 Values & Ethics in Public Policy

This is a core course restricted to Ford School MPP and MPA students only. 

This section of 580 focuses primarily on U.S. policy and politics.

This course seeks to make students sensitive to and articulate about the ways in which moral and political values come into play in the American policy process, particularly as they affect non-elected public officials who work in a world shaped by politics. Topics covered include the tensions between ethics and politics, an introduction to various moral theories that figure in contemporary policy debates, a consideration of the principal values that animate American politics, and issues and dilemmas in professional ethics. The course addresses issues that affect international as well as U.S. policy and politics.  

Faculty Expert

David E. Thacher

Associate Professor of Public Policy and Urban Planning

As an associate professor of public policy and urban planning, Thacher’s research draws from philosophy, history, and the interpretive social sciences to develop and apply a humanistic approach to policy research. Most of his work has focused on criminal justice policy, where he has undertaken studies of order maintenance policing, the local police role in homeland security, community policing reform, the distribution of safety and security, prisoner re-entry, and criminal justice discretion.