PRAXIS AWARD AND SIGNATURE EVENTS
PRAXIS AWARD IN PROFESSIONAL ETHICS
Inaugurated in 2007, the Praxis Award in Professional Ethics highlights and celebrates the contributions of a professional or an academic in the field of professional ethics. Presented annually at a special recognition ceremony, the recipient is invited to give a brief lecture, open to the public.
Congratultions to the 2026 Praxis Award recipient, Ms. Della Clark
Ms. Della Clark is the president of The Enterprise Center in Philadelphia, the West Philly-based nonprofit that is laser-focused on helping diverse small businesses get started and then keeping them rolling. Della Clark’s vision for minority entrepreneurship is not about counting the number of successful businesses but about making businesses count. Since 1992, Ms. Clark has brought this vision to fruition as President of The Enterprise Center – an organization at the forefront of the Greater Philadelphia region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, guided by the mission to cultivate and invest in minority entrepreneurs to inspire economic growth in communities. Ms. Clark’s contributions to small, minority-owned businesses in Philadelphia have been profound.
In 2016, Della Clark received the Abe Venable Legacy Award for Lifetime Achievement for making a significant contribution to minority entrepreneurship from Secretary Penny Pritzker, US Dept of Commerce. This award is only granted to individuals with an integral role in the creative, technical, or professional progress of minority business development. She was recognized in August 2022 with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Philadelphia Business Journal. She is one of Philadelphia’s most Influential people according to the Philadelphia Magazine and is also one of the Philadelphia Tribune’s most Influential African American Leaders for over 10 years.
Ms. Clark’s lifetime commitment has been to use her professional expertise to serve the needs of some of the most vulnerable communities in the greater Philadelphia area. For this and for her commitment to the common good, The Ethics Program at Villanova University is honored to celebrate Ms. Della Clark with the 2026 Praxis Award in Professional Ethics.
Call for Nominations
Nineteenth Annual
Praxis Award in Professional Ethics
The Ethics Program invites nominations for the 2026 Praxis Award in Professional Ethics. To highlight and celebrate the work of professionals and academics in the field of professional ethics, the Ethics Program of Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences recognizes the work of such a person by awarding him or her with the Praxis Award.
We call for the nominations of individuals who meet any of the criteria outlined below. To be considered, a nominee need not fulfill all of the criteria listed. Recognizing excellence in one or more of these areas, however, is the objective of the award.
A nominee should demonstrate evidence of excellence by
- Embodying the ethical ideals of a particular profession
- Connecting work in a profession to a broader understanding of the common good
- Promoting ethical integrity in a professional field
- Conducting research in the field of professional ethics
- Influencing the field of professional ethics in a positive manner through writing, teaching, consulting, and/or professional leadership
The deadline for nominations is Friday, April 18, 2025.
With your nomination, please provide the committee with the following:
1. Your rationale for the nomination
2. A biography of the nominee
3. Contact information for the nominee
The person nominating may be asked to meet with the selection committee to discuss his or her nominee.
The committee recommends that all nominations be confidential.
The Selection Committee for Praxis Award includes faculty members from the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the Villanova University M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Engineering and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law.
Please submit all nominations by April 18, 2025 to Mark Doorley, Director, the Ethics Program of the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences.
Mark Doorley, Ph.D.
mark.doorley@villanova.edu
2025: Sr. Mary Scullion
2024: Paul Farber, PhD
2023: Chef Cristina Martinez
2022: Dr. Ala Stanford, FACS, FAAP
2020: Stewart Kwoh, Esq.
2019: Michael E. Mann, PhD
2018: Barbara Laker and Wendy Ruderman
2017: James Childress, PhD
2016: Deborah Wilson, RN, BSN
2015: Louis S. Rulli, JD
2014: Judge Marc Carter
2013: Jennifer Staple-Clark
2012: Andrew Kricun, PE
2011: Milton H. Donaldson, MD
2010: Marc Edwards, PhD
2009: Amy Domini
2008: John Hansen-Flaschen, MD
2007: Joel J. Nobel, MD
Each academic year, typically in the fall, the Ethics Program invites a junior scholar in Ethics to deliver a public lecture for the Villanova University community. Undergraduates have an opportunity to engage a younger scholar at the beginning of their career on a variety of contemporary moral topics. This lecture is sponsored by the William T. Dunn ’55 Ethics Program Endowed Fund.
Each year during Family Weekend we celebrate the best works in ethics from the previous academic year.
Healthcare and Well-being
Ava Hazzouri-"Bridging the Divide: An Ethical Case for Integrating Dentistry and Medicine"
Julia Otto-"Using Forensic Science and Data to Maximize Well-Being at the U.S. Mexico Border"
Janice Park-"Prudential Personalism: A Catholic Bioethical Analysis of Artificial Nutrition & Hydration in Post-Coma Unresponsiveness"
Meghan Scott-"The Ethics of Food Waste"
Money and Justice
Hannah Logue-"Family Business: "The Moral Imperative to Provide Workers with Paid Family Leave"
Stephanie Kwong-"Ethics in Accounting"
Riley Haubert-"Abolishing Cash Bail: An Argument for Contractarianism in the American Justice System"
Peter Fabietti-"Defunding DEI Programs: Florida's Morally Impermissible Mistake"
Sex, Race and Religion in Society
Charlotte McClelland-"Boarding Schools' Contribution to the Loss of Indigenous Religous Tradition"
Alexander Albrecht-"Hand in Hand: Revolutionary and Reformational Approaches"
Sarah Burkat-"For the Sake of Marriage: Catholic Ethics vs. Classical Liberalism"
Owen Dorlac-"We Can Choose What Ties Us Together"
DELAWARE VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL ETHICS BOWL
Villanova also hosts the annual Delaware Valley Regional High School Ethics Bowl, as part of The National High School Ethics Bowl. Similar to the Collegiate Bowl, teams take turns analyzing cases about complex ethical dilemmas and responding to questions and comments from the other team and from a panel of judges. For more information, please contact Mark Doorley. The 2026 Ethics Bowl will be held on February 7 2026.