Charles Zola
Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of the Catholic and Dominican Institute, and Assistant Vice President for Mission
Bio
After a year of teaching at Georgetown Prep and Saint John's College High School in Washington, DC., I pursued my graduate work at the Institute of Philosophy of the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in Belgium and spent 4 years living and traveling in Europe.
Due to personal experience, I developed an interest in the ethical dimensions of elder care and family ethics. I have given numerous presentations to nursing and social workers who care for the elderly, and have a deep appreciation for how the discipline of ethics is related to health care.
During my time at Mount Saint Mary College I have served in the role of assistant for mission integration and direct the Catholic and Dominican Institute. I am so grateful to have the opportunity to help promote and support the incredible 800 year Dominican intellectual tradition of the Mount and the four Dominican pillars.
My teaching philosophy is one rooted in the Socratic dictum to "know thyself", and my classes encourage students to engage in study that is ultimately oriented toward the answering the question, What is a good life? And I am a strong advocate for study abroad programs and experiential learning.
In my spare time I enjoy weight training and cooking. I am a keyboardist and avid collector of vintage Christmas items. I enjoy studying Italian, French, and Polish culture/cuisine, and have traced my family history back to 1724.
Medical Ethics
Business Ethics
Ethics and Applied Ethics
Elder Care Ethics
Catholic and Dominican Intellectual Tradition
American Catholic Philosophical Association
Director of the Catholic and Dominican Institute of Mount Saint Mary College (2009-present)
Assistant to the President for Mission Integration, Mount Saint Mary College (2016-present)
Established and direct the Dominican Scholars of Hope program of Mount Saint Mary College (2016-present)
Teaching Award from Graduate School of Business, Mount Saint Mary College (2016)
Director of the Ethics Institute of Northeastern Pennsylvania at Misericordia University (2003-2009)
Outstanding Teaching Award for adjunct faculty at Penn State, Hazleton (2004)
- Zola, Charles M. "Prudential Elder Care." American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 87, no. 1, 2013, pp. 137-64., doi: 10.5840/acpq 20138717.
- Zola, Charles. "Filial Responsibility for Aging Parents." The Ethics of the Family: a Text with Readings, by Stephen Scales et al., Cambridge Scholars, 2010.
- Zola, Charles. "Geriatric Filial Piety." International Journal of Applied Philosophy, vol. 15, no. 2, 2001, pp. 185-203., doi: 10.5840/ijap 20011528.