About Charles W. Kegley
The Kegley Institute of Ethics is named in memory of Charles W. Kegley (1912-1986), who was the founding Chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at California State University, Bakersfield. Charles Kegley Dr. Kegley was designated Outstanding Professor in 1984 and Professor Emeritus in 1986, and was founder and editor of the world-renowned Library of Living Theology. He was well-published in the areas of ethics, both theoretical and applied, and in social and political philosophy. His distinguished career included serving as Rockefeller Visiting Professor at the University of the Philippines. He was also a Visiting Professor at Rice University and an active participant in a number of International Congresses of Philosophy.
Dr. Kegley provided students and colleagues with a spirited example of excellence in scholarship and teaching and an inspired concern for the importance of the Humanities in the education of the whole person. The annual Charles W. Kegley Memorial Lecture brings scholars to the CSUB campus who also exemplify these values.
The Institute carries on the work of Professor Kegley as well as the spirit of his philosophy of life, summed up in a phrase of Bertrand Russell: "Inspired by love and guided by reason."