Ethics Bowl Team

The Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl is a national debate-format competition where students develop and sharpen both their critical reasoning skills and their public speaking skills while gaining insight into the complex nature of contemporary moral dilemmas and scenarios.
 

 

How It Works

During the fall semester, teams in our region spend around eight weeks working out their positions on case studies that present ethical dilemmas. Teams then meet at a regional qualifying competition. There, they determine which schools will receive bids to the national competition, which is held in the spring.

One thing that distinguishes Ethics Bowl competitions from more traditional debate competitions is that teams are not assigned a position for which they must argue. Instead, teams argue for what they believe. The result is truly great conversations!

 

How to Participate

The most obvious way to participate in Ethics Bowl at Weber State is to take the Ethics Bowl class, but if you can’t take the class, you are still welcome to join the team.

For those not wanting to actually compete, we have other roles, such as being a team researcher or helping the team prepare its positions on various cases. Some students serve as moderators at the regional competition or even as judges at the local High School Ethics Bowl.

In years when Ethics Bowl courses are offered in the Utah State Correctional Facility, select students have the opportunity to help coach the Prison Ethics Bowl Team.

To learn more, or jump right in and join the team, contact Richard Greene (rgreene@weber.edu).

 

Leadership Behind the Ethics Bowl

The Ethics Bowl at Weber State University is led by Professor Richard Greene, a philosophy professor with a deep passion for ethical debate and student engagement. Dr. Greene has been a driving force behind his region's Ethics Bowl. He co-founded the Wasatch Regional Ethics Bowl, helped shape the activity as chair of the National Rules Committee, and even served as Director of the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. 

To support students and teams, he started the first-ever Ethics Bowl workshop in 2014, an event that’s now in its 12th year. His dedication hasn't gone unnoticed: in 2025 he received the , recognizing his outstanding contributions to the Ethics Bowl community.

Thanks to Dr. Greene’s leadership, the Ethics Bowl at Weber State University is a place where students can sharpen their critical thinking skills, develop their voices, and take on real-world ethical challenges together.

To join the team, contact Dr. Greene (rgreene@weber.edu).