James J. Walter, Ph.D.

Austin & Ann O'Malley Chair in Bioethics

The Bioethics Institute

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BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE

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James J. Walter received his Bachelor's degree in Philosophy, and then he earned advanced degrees in Theology (S.T.B.), Philosophy (Ph.B.), Religious Studies (B.A., M.A.), and a Ph.D. in ethics from the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven).  Currently, Dr. Walter holds the Austin & Ann O'Malley Chair in Bioethics, and he was the founding Director (1999-2004) and then the Chairperson (2004-2009) of The Bioethics Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

Professor Walter completed a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Clinical Bioethics from the Department of Medicine at Loyola University Chicago's Stritch School of Medicine, and he has had extensive experience as a bioethics consultant to several hospitals. Currently, he serves as a clinical bioethicist at the three medical centers and hospice facility belonging to the Citrus Valley Health Partners in Covina, CA (Citrus Valley Medical Center, Queen of the Valley Medical Center, Foothill Presbyterian Hospital, and Citrus Valley Hospice). Dr. Walter has lectured widely throughout the United States, Asia and Europe, and he has frequently been interviewed on television, radio, and by the press.  He has published six books: Conversion and Discipleship: A Christian Foundation for Ethics and Doctrine (Fortress Press, 1986 and republished in 2007); Quality of Life: The New Medical Dilemma (Paulist Press, 1990); A Call to Fidelity: On the Moral Theology of Charles E. Curran (Georgetown University Press, 2002); The New Genetic Medicine: Theological and Ethical Reflections (Sheed & Ward, 2003); Contemporary Issues in Bioethics: A Catholic Perspective (Sheed & Ward, 2005) and Artificial Nutrition & Hydration and the Permanently Unconscious Patient: The Catholic Debate (Georgetown University Press, 2007).  Professor Walter is currently working with two Japanese scholars at Ryukoku University in Kyoto, Japan, on a new book entitled Intersections between Science, Religion & Ethics: A Dialogue between Shin Buddhism and the Roman Catholic Tradition. He has also authored 100 book chapters, peer-reviewed articles and reviews.

Dr. Walter is listed in the Directory of American Scholars, Men of Achievement, The Dictionary of International Biography, The Contemporary Who's Who, and in 2000 Outstanding Scholars of the 21st Century, and he is the recipient of the 1992 Graduate Faculty Member of the Year Award at Loyola University Chicago and the 2007 Spirit of St. Francis Award at St. Francis Medical Center in Lynwood, CA for excellence in clinical bioethics consultation. He has been a member of several ethics research centers, including the International Study Group in Bioethics of the International Federation of Catholic Universities, and he has also served on the editorial board of many national and international scholarly presses. In 2005 he was appointed by the California Council on Science and Technology to a one-year, state-wide Panel on Bioethics.  He has delivered over 450 scholarly papers and public lectures to various audiences around the US, Europe and Asia on topics related to bioethics.  Professor Walter was the founding chair of The International Forum for Catholic Bioethicists, which met annually from 2003-2008 outside Brussels, Belgium with members from around the world.