Clemson ethics institute honors MUSC associate professor

Published: May 8, 2012

Ida Spruill image by: Craig Mahaffey/Clemson University

CLEMSON — Ida Spruill of Charleston is the first recipient of the Clemson University Robert Rutland J. Institute for Ethics’ “Bringing Ethics into Focus” Award. Presented to Spruill at the Institute’s 10th anniversary event on campus, the award recognizes significant efforts to bring about a more ethical environment in South Carolina.
 
A nurse, faculty member and researcher in the Medical University of South Carolina College of Nursing, Spruill was honored for her accomplishments in health care research, resulting in dramatic health improvements for individuals and communities.

“Spruill’s engagement of African-American communities in community-based participatory research reveals a deep ethical commitment to treating people with respect and to making access to health care more equitable for underserved populations,” said Dan Wueste, director of the Rutland Institute. “Her approach to medical research, which emphasizes building trust and achieving buy-in from the study participants, increases the significance of and confidence in the results.”
 
Raymond Greenberg, president of the Medical University of South Carolina, nominated Spruill for the award, noting: “The principles underlying her efforts to report to the communities and share the outcomes of the research demonstrated a quality of respect and understanding rarely found in the most sophisticated methodologies.”
 
The Robert J. Rutland Institute for Ethics conducts programs and activities to benefit Clemson University and the surrounding community. Its campus activities focus on students, faculty and staff and its community programs benefit the business, education and professional sectors.
 
The Institute’s principal academic partner is the department of philosophy and religion. The Institute also is home to the International Center for Academic Integrity, a consortium of nearly 300 institutions to identify and promote the values of academic integrity among students, faculty, teachers and administrators.

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