The Eugene P. Beard Graduate Fellowship in Ethics has been established by the University Program in Ethics and the Professions. The fellowship will be awarded each year to an outstanding Harvard graduate student who has excelled in his or her field of specialization, and who demonstrates an interest and aptitude in the ethical analysis of practical problems.

The award is made possible through the generosity of Eugene P. Beard, vice chairman for finance and operations of the Interpublic Group of Companies Inc., a worldwide advertising and marketing communications company headquartered in New York. Beard, who is enthusiastic about the Ethics Program's work with graduate students, is particularly interested in encouraging the careers of students who combine philosophy or political theory with work on practical problems in law, medicine or public policy.

The first recipient of the award is Alec Walen, a J.D. candidate at the Law School. He was selected by a faculty committee representing several of the professional schools, and chaired by Program Director Professor Dennis Thompson. Walen, who holds a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Pittsburgh, will study the conditions under which it is morally and legally appropriate to consider the number of people who are affected by a choice. He will join other graduate fellows and participate in a weekly seminar, reading works in practical ethics. He will also take part in the wider intellectual life of the Program with the visiting faculty Fellows in Ethics, outstanding scholars and teachers from Harvard and other universities, who spend a sabbatical year with the Program.

"This new Fellowship will make a major contribution to our ethics initiative" said Professor Thompson. "It will build on a fellowship program that is targeted at the most important stage in the career of teachers and scholars of practical ethics. In effect, we are investing in the long-term future of practical ethics in higher education, and we are extremely grateful to Mr. Beard for recognizing this important work."