Andrews to Host Bioethics Consortium Conference

From May 12–13, 2025

Andrews University will host the 9th annual Adventist Bioethics Consortium Conference in Buller Hall. (Photo by Austin Ho)

Andrews University will host the 9th annual Adventist Bioethics Consortium Conference on May 12 and 13. All events will be held in Buller Hall on the Andrews campus. The conference theme is “Know Mission, Know Margin” and aims to address current issues in clinical ethics, bioethics, theology and Adventist health care as well as foster the growing network of Adventist health care systems and professionals. Participants can attend both in person and virtually.

The theme “Know Mission, Know Margin” comes from the phrase “No Margin, No Mission,” which was popularized by Sister Irene Kraus, former CEO of the Daughters of Charity National Health System. Kraus’ leadership, based on fiscal responsibility, allowed the health system to thrive while supporting a strong faith-based mission. The consortium will explore the current-day application of this phrase and the tension it presents between service and sustainability, highlighting the issue of justifying financial decisions in a professional, faith-based context.

The conference will aim to address the term “margin,” defined both as financial profit—delving into the ethics of financial constraints in the face of helping others—and as groups of people who are impacted negatively by social and health disparities. Presenters will discuss different aspects of these issues, investigating accessible health care, exploring cost-efficiency, breaking down moral dilemmas faced by health care providers and navigating how to maintain quality of care.

The Adventist Bioethics Consortium Conference invites participation from health care professionals, ethicists, students, administrators, chaplains and others interested in bioethics discussion and faith-based health care. Each day will open with a worship thought before continuing with presenters from Adventist Health, Sydney Adventist Hospital, Loma Linda University Health, Kettering Health, Andrews University, Washington Adventist University, Indiana University and AdventHealth University.

The conference will end with lunch on Tuesday, May 13, preceded by a poster symposium displaying projects on pure science and applied science by researchers from Andrews University, University of Namibia, Kenya Medical Training College and Loma Linda University. The poster symposium presenters will give oral presentations on their research the following day in a follow-on conference, the Andrews Research Conference: Early Career Researchers in STEM and the Health Sciences.

Registration is free of charge, and lunch meal tickets for both days will be included with registration for in-person attendees. To register, please visit the conference website. More information about the Andrews Research Conference can be found here.