Scott Parsons

ASSITANT Vice Chancellor for CHARACTER AND ETHICS Development

Texas Tech University Sysytem

Biography

As the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Character and Etics for the Texas Tech University System, I assist organizations within the System in developing leaders of character by designing curricula, integration techniques, and assessment tools with a focus on character education. As a leader, teacher, and facilitator, I design character education programs, based on Neo-Aristotelian Virtue Ethics to facilitate a flourishing life for students, faculty, and staff.

I am a retired Army officer with over 24 years of military experience. I have spent just over half my military career in Cyber and Military Intelligence and the other half in academia serving as an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Ethics at the United States Military Academy at West Point. Additionally, I served as the Character Development Integrator for the Military Program at West Point for three years prior to coming to the Texas Tech University System. I have completed three combat deployments to Iraq, one to Afghanistan, and completed a one-year tour of duty in the Republic of Korea.

I earned my Ph.D. through the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues at the University of Birmingham, UK. I also received an MA in Philosophy and an MA in Political Science at Columbia University. Additionally, I have a BS in Education from the University of Nebraska Omaha and a BA in Philosophy from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

What interests me most about leadership and flourishing is three-fold: 1) How do senior leaders find resources to promote flourishing for their organisation? 2) How do educators find resources to promote flourishing for their students? 3) How do mid-level leaders demonstrate and promote flourishing to both their leadership and those they lead? I believe we want those we engage with to know that, with the right tools and resources, they can help the people they lead flourish under their leadership, and ultimately prepare them to be leaders of the next generation who want those they lead to flourish.

Currently I am especially interested in the role of virtue literacy as the foundation of character education programs.

Character Development

Leadership and Flourishing in Education

The Ethics of Artificial Intelligence