James J. Walter, Ph.D. 

Austin & Ann O'Malley Professor of Bioethics 

The Bioethics Institute

 

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BRIEF CURRICULUM VITAE


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 is the Austin and Ann O'Malley Professor of 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 weekly as the clinical bioethicist in the Intensive Care Unit and on the palliative care service at Providence Little Company of Mary Medical Center in Torrance, CA, and he is a consultant to the bioethics committees at three medical centers belonging to the Citrus Valley Health Partners in Covina, CA.  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 on a volume entitled Intersections Between Science, Religion & Ethics: A Dialogue Between Shin Buddhism and the Roman Catholic Tradition.  He has also authored nearly 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 525 scholarly papers and public lectures to various audiences on topics related to bioethics.  Professor Walter is the founding chair of The International Forum for Catholic Bioethicists, which meets annually in BrusselsBelgium with members from around the world.