Submit Your Proposal for APPE 2027 in Pittsburgh

APPE invites individuals from every discipline and profession interested in advancing scholarship, teaching, and a general understanding of applied ethics to submit proposals based on their work to our 36th Annual APPE International Conference on March 4-7, 2027 in Pittsburgh. There will be an online-only portion of the conference program on April 2, 2027 to accommodate our members, presenters, and guests who are located across the globe, or who are unable to attend the in-person conference in Pittsburgh.

This year’s theme, Examining Ethics and Power, invites critical reflection on the ethical dimensions of power across professional, institutional, and global contexts. We encourage proposals that explore how power dynamics shape ethical decision‑making; how power manifests in professional practices; how institutions perpetuate or prevent harm; and how ethical frameworks can clarify what is at stake as well as expose, challenge, and transform unjust power relations.

Power structures social, political, organizational, and interpersonal relations. Violence—whether physical, structural, symbolic, epistemic, or institutional—often emerges from, reinforces, or obscures the workings of power. Ethical analysis is essential for understanding how power is exercised, resisted, justified, and contested; how its proper use is often not recognized, as well as how the misuse of power is often normalized, hidden, or confronted in professional and public settings.

In addition to the special focus, we welcome submissions from all areas of practical and professional ethics.

Submissions are due Monday, October 5, 2026 and will be submitted via Ex Ordo.

We need your help shaping the future of APPE! APPE Committees are made up of APPE Board Members and Members-At-Large. Committees are a great way to get involved with planning and supporting the organization, and to gain leadership experience. Submit your nomination by June 8, 2026 to be considered for the following committees:

• APPE IEB® (Responsible for serving as liaison to the APPE Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl® program and engaging and coordinating with others interested in ethics bowl activities.)
• Conference (Responsible for overseeing the planning and production of the annual conference.)
• Membership & Nominating (Responsible for recruiting and retaining members, ensuring member satisfaction, and promoting membership benefits; and identifying, vetting, and recommending an annual list of candidates for election to the Board of Directors)
• Outreach & Engagement (Responsible for increasing outreach and engagement of members and non-members and creating a welcoming, supportive and accessible environment in all our programming.)
• Programming (Responsible for overseeing the planning and production of non-conference programming throughout the year.)

Only APPE Members whose memberships are in good standing will be considered for committee positions. Committees are reconstituted on an annual basis and members serve one year, renewal terms, which begin on July 1, 2026.

APPE Endowment Update

Our APPE Endowment, a long-term fund designed to secure APPE’s future and ensure we thrive for generations to come, continues to grow. Thanks to your generosity we are almost halfway to our goal of $50,000. The APPE Board will will continue to match gifts up to $10,000. Help us reach $50,000! All gifts, no matter the size, will help.

Newsy & Noteworthy

APPE Online Payments
The platform that we use to process payments online has changed the way that it collects credit card fees. This means that going forward ALL payments to APPE conducted online will be charged a credit card processing fee (this includes sponsorships which were previously exempted). We are in a transition period, which also means that there might be a duplicate credit card fee if your membership renewal was initiated before this new system took over. Please review your bill before paying to make sure you do not pay a duplicate credit card fee. Remember, you can always avoid these fees by mailing in a check or setting APPE up with your institution through Electronic Funds Transfer.

As many of your institutions wrap up your fiscal years, please consider paying your APPE membership or your APPE conference registration with any remaining funds. We can also pre-pay memberships or discuss sponsorship opportunities. Thanks for your support and continued membership!

If you have any questions or see a duplicate charge, reach out to the APPE office at contact@appe-ethics.org.

Jobs & Events
Have you seen our job and event emails? Limited free access to post jobs and events of interest in the weekly email (as well as in the Info Hub) is a benefit of membership. If you're a member and would like to submit something for consideration, just login to the Member portal, go to Job & Event Postings and click "add." Non-members can access the jobs and events by creating a login but must pay a fee to list positions and events. Reach out to contact@appe-ethics.org for more info.

We Want to Hear From You! To be featured as a member spotlight or if you have news to share, including books published, send us an email at membernews@appe-ethics.org.

Ethics Bowl Case to Consider

Happy to Be Alone? (From the IEB Case Archive A)

Recently, an elephant named Happy from the Bronx Zoo died at the age of 55. She was the subject of a lawsuit that argued that she deserved legal personhood and the right to bodily liberty. She was also the subject of an Ethics Bowl case, as it sparked debate about moral and legal rights of animals, and whether sentience or self-awareness should confer personhood.

Read the case here, then discuss with your friends, family and colleagues.