Bridging healthcare and ethics: 25 years of the Neiswanger Institute

This summer marks the 25th anniversary of the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership. Rooted in the Jesuit, Catholic identity of Loyola University Chicago and Stritch School of Medicine, the Neiswanger Institute has been committed to social justice and advocating for the marginalized from the outset. It has since become a national leader in training healthcare professionals to navigate some of their fields’ toughest ethical challenges.

As the Neiswanger Institute celebrates this milestone anniversary, Director and Professor Mark Kuczewski, who has led the Institute since its inception, reflects on the past 25 years and how the bioethics programs continue accompanying individuals on their educational journeys. 

Why did you want to build a bioethics institute rooted in Jesuit values?

When I first learned that Stritch was planning to create a bioethics institute, I saw a unique opportunity. Bioethics as a field was still quite young. Its early focus on patient rights and autonomy was a huge step forward, but it wasn’t the full picture.  

The values that Jesuit and Catholic social teaching emphasize, such as the dignity, quite literally the “worth” of the person, and the resulting sense of social justice, are necessary for the healthcare professions and our institutions to care for the whole person and our communities. We saw that bioethics had to go beyond individual autonomy and engage the broader social realities—like racism, stigma, and access to care—that shape health outcomes Loyola offered fertile ground for a new kind of bioethics institute. 

What does “education as accompaniment” mean in practice?

Our faculty have developed community partnership programs beyond what we’ve seen at any other bioethics centers. Early in my career, I was struck by how alone many nurses and physicians felt in wrestling with major ethical issues such as how to make end-of-life decisions with their patients. I wanted to somehow help them feel less alone.  

That vision shaped our online learning community. Beyond sharing information, our programs connect participants to the experiences of peer professionals and faculty expertise.  

What are some of the Institute’s proudest achievements over the past 25 years?

One that stands out is the Loyola University Chicago-Ukrainian Catholic University (LUC-UCU) Bioethics Fellowship Program, designed to help Ukrainian physicians and scientists strengthen ethical research practices and prepare to engage in international collaborations. This program launched successfully with a Fogarty Grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 2020. Of course, things changed significantly when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022.  

Many fellows were displaced from their homes and faced constant threat and uncertainty. Instead of stepping back from the program, they persevered and chose to continue their studies. The online medium gave them a sense of connection and provided an opportunity for social support from faculty and classmates. With faculty guidance, fellows have developed numerous publications and conference presentations related to their wartime experience. We are continuing to walk with them on this journey and perhaps the most meaningful chapters are still to be written. 

Is there one last thing you would like prospective students to know?

When someone joins one of our programs, they not only gain knowledge but join a transformative community. We each bring our own experiences and together try to respond to the challenges posed by our mutual encounter. People captivated at the prospect of setting the world on fire may find that our programs are the perfect fit. 

About the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Healthcare Leadership

To date, the Institute has awarded more than 160 doctorates, 410 master’s, and 150 certificates. Since its inception, the Neiswanger Institute embraced the Jesuit theme of “education as accompaniment,” an approach of meeting learners where they are by providing flexible, rigorous learning for professionals at all stages of their career. That forward-thinking approach led to the launch of one of the first fully online master’s programs in bioethics in 2002, followed by the nation’s first online Doctor of Bioethics program in 2009. From clinical ethics and health policy to global partnerships, the Neiswanger Institute continues to evolve in response to the needs of healthcare and society. 

Read more stories from the Stritch School of Medicine.