History

The Center was established in 1972 with funding from the late Nelson Poynter. Mr. Poynter, an alumnus of Indiana University, was the chairman of the board of the Times Publishing Company, which publishes the St. Petersburg Times and Congressional Quarterly.

Mr. Poynter's initial five-year gift was prompted by his concern about declining trust in public institutions. In 1976, Mr. Poynter presented the university with a second substantial gift, which endowed the Center and established it in perpetuity. The Center's work is supported by income from the endowment, funding from Indiana University, and contracts and grants from public and private agencies and foundations.

The founding director was William Lee Miller, who served from 1972-1982. David H. Smith served as director from 1982 until his retirement in 2003, when Richard B. Miller became director.

The Poynter Center directs it attention to the entire spectrum of American political and social institutions, drawing on the fullest resources of the university and cutting across traditional boundaries of curriculum and academic discipline. The center's projects take a normative perspective. In recent years, the Poynter Center has focused on bioethics, religion, political ethics, teaching ethics, professional ethics, and technology.

For information about some of our concluded projects, see the links below.

• Ethics and the Educated Person
• Social Face of Death
• Research Ethics: The Least of My Brothers
• Research Ethics: Scientists and Subjects
• Summary of Other Completed Projects

For an annual summary of 2003, see 2003 in Review.

For an annual summary of 2004, see 2004 in Review.

For an annual summary of 2005, see 2005 in Review.

For an annual summary of 2006, see 2006 in Review.

For an annual summary of 2007, see 2007 in Review.