CSUB appoints Dr. Nate Olson as Kegley Institute of Ethics director

California State University, Bakersfield has announced that it has appointed Dr. Nate Olson to serve as the director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics (KIE).

Dr. Olson, a philosophy professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, has served as the interim KIE director since September 2023, following the departure of previous director Dr. Michael Burroughs.

Dr. Olson had previously served as associate director of the Kegley Institute from 2017 to 2023. He was originally hired by CSUB as an assistant professor in 2015.

"I am honored to be named the director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics," he said. "For decades, KIE has served as CSUB and Kern County's forum for discussion of the ethical issues at the center of our lives. I look forward to carrying forward that tradition while also growing KIE in new directions."

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Deborah Thien said she has enjoyed working with Dr. Olson to support the center and is looking forward to seeing what he will accomplish as the permanent director.

"Since my arrival at CSUB in July, I have been consistently impressed by Dr. Olson's leadership as interim director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics," Dr. Thien said. "He has brought an impressive array of speakers and programs to campus. However, he is far more than an event organizer; Dr. Olson is a central interlocutor who advances meaningful and timely ethics conversations across the university and beyond. We are fortunate to have his leadership at CSUB."

As interim director, Dr. Olson has overseen an expansion of programming across KIE's initiatives and has forged new partnerships with other schools and community organizations.

Dr. Olson serves as principal investigator on a three-year, $500,000 grant from Wake Forest University's Educating Character Initiative - the largest grant in KIE's history - to support the Intercollegiate Civil Disagreement Partnership (ICDP).

ICDP is a program that trains students on how to navigate political and cultural differences through civil dialogue. It is run by a nationwide consortium of six colleges and universities - including CSUB - that each provide fellowships to six to eight undergraduate students every year.

Dr. Olson - who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from Georgetown University - teaches courses at CSUB in ethical theory and practical ethics, with an emphasis on ethical issues in professional life and the sciences. Much of his research addresses bioethics, including both research and clinical ethics.

Prior to working at CSUB, Dr. Olson was a post-doctoral teaching fellow in the Thinking Matters program at Stanford University and worked with the Stanford Center for Biomedical Ethics.

Former philosophy professor Dr. Jackie Kegley -who helped found the Kegley Institute of Ethics in honor of her husband, fellow CSUB professor Charles W. Kegley - said she is excited about Dr. Olson's appointment.

"He's done a terrific job as interim director," she said. "He knows the local community. He's an expert in the field of ethics. I'm delighted that he will become the permanent director."

President Vernon B. Harper Jr. said the Kegley Institute is a vital part of the university and looks forward to seeing it grow under Dr. Olson's leadership.

"I am delighted by the appointment of Dr. Olson to lead the Kegley Institute of Ethics, an organization that challenges our community to explore deeply personal and complex issues of the day in a respectful, civil space," he said. "Since its founding in 1986, the Kegley Institute of Ethics has offered access to thought leaders and programming that is not available anywhere else in Kern County, and we are incredibly proud and protective of that legacy. Dr. Olson's outstanding stewardship of the KIE and his reputation as a thoughtful scholar and ethicist make him the ideal selection to lead us forward."