Center for Ethics and Public Engagement

Connect Learning with Living

Connect your curiosity in the classroom to the individual and social elements of daily life. Imagine and evaluate your ethical responsibilities. Discover how to align your values with community action.

The Luther College Center for Ethics and Public Engagement (The CEPE, pronounced “The Keep”) designs opportunities to help you become an informed, engaged, and critical thinking global citizen. Experience one of our public events, join a book group, or partner with The CEPE in community outreach.

The CEPE Theme for Fall 2025: Artificial(?)

Sign up for our Book Groups

Analyze and critique books, albums, films, and essays with other interested readers.

Book Groups

The Podeia Podcast

Produced in partnership with KWLC, Podeia explores local stories at the intersection of ethics, place, and public life. Season 3 tells the story of the Kennedy family, a 19th-century African American family in Decorah.

Listen Here!

Jeff VanderMeer Visit

Learn more about award-winning author Jeff VanderMeer and his campus visit in April of 2025.

Jeff VanderMeer

Year in review at The CEPE

Over the course of the 2024-2025 academic school year The CEPE arranged several major events for the Luther community and beyond, from hosting best-selling Author Jeff VanderMeer to a planetarium multimedia experience of Anishinaabe star knowledge. We collaborated with faculty, staff, and students in funding book groups, guest speakers, and more.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR AT THE CEPE

Meet The CEPE Faculty Research Fellow

The 2025–2027 Research Fellow is Associate Professor of Management Hongxiao Yu. Her research explores how users perceive and trust AI in decision-making contexts, particularly in hospitality, tourism, and education. She investigates the ethical challenges and human factors that influence AI adoption and misuse, with the goal of promoting transparency, informed use, and public trust. During her fellowship, she will conduct interviews and surveys, develop a theoretical framework on AI trust, and engage the campus through guest speakers, student research, and public events.