Ethics and Religious Leaders

As part of the second year of of Ethics and the Professions series, Stanford Dean for Religious Life Scotty McLennan will be in conversation with Rabbi Mychal Copeland and Father Nathan Castle to discuss the ethical implications of being a religious leaders. Stanford students (both undergraduate and graduate) will leave Stanford and embark on careers in a variety of fields. It is our hope that this series of in-depth conversations will allow us to bring out the ethical issues unique to each profession so students (and the larger Stanford community) can engage with the issues in ways that often aren't addressed in the classroom.

Scotty McLennan is the Dean for Religious Life at Stanford. His duties at Stanford include providing spiritual, moral, and ethical leadership for the university as a whole, teaching, encouraging a wide spectrum of religious traditions on campus, serving as a minister of Memorial Church, and engaging in public service.

Rabbi Mychal Copeland is a California native who joined us in 2003 as Rabbi and Senior Jewish Educator. Prior to that, she served as Associate Director of Jewish Student Life at Hillel of University of California Los Angeles. Rabbi Copeland earned a Masters in Theological Studies from Harvard Divinity School and a rabbinical degree from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Father Nathan Castle graduated from Trinity University in San Antonio and entered the Dominican order in 1979. He's served in campus ministries in California and Arizona for the last 20 years. Prior to coming to Stanford, Castle spent 12 years as Director of All Saints Catholic Newman Center serving Arizona State University, and he is immediate past chair of the Executive Board of the Catholic Campus Ministry Association.