KSU Institute
Biographical Information

Van B. Weigel, Ph.D.
Professor of Ethics and Economic Development

Van B. Weigel received his Ph.D. in Ethics and Society from the University of Chicago. His doctoral dissertation explored the ethical dimensions of the Basic Needs Approach to economic development, and the preliminary findings of his research were published in World Development. He is the author of A Unified Theory of Global Development (Praeger, 1989)-selected by Choice as an "Outstanding Academic Book."

After the publication of A Unified Theory of Global Development, Dr. Weigel focused on the challenges associated with facilitating strategic institutional change and promoting global environmental responsibility. In 1993 he published an article in World Development, with Elizabeth Morgan and Grant Power, which presented a six-fold typology of action programs for global change. This typology became a basis for a study commissioned by UNICEF that examined UNICEF's own approach to global change in connection with the 50th Anniversary of the United Nations. He is also the author of Earth Cancer (Praeger, 1995)-a book that critiques ethics and economics in light of the concept of ecological interdependence.

More recently, Dr. Weigel has focused his work on the role of technology in nonprofit organizations and educational institutions. In 1995, he co-founded the Center for Innovation in Community Development (sponsored by CoreStates Bank-now First Union) and helped develop the SmartGrant software package. SmartGrant-consisting of SmartPlan, SmartProposal and SmartBudget-is designed to help nonprofit organizations and community groups to do strategic planning, proposal writing and project budgeting. The program can be downloaded free of charge at www.innovate.org.

Dr. Weigel is also the author of Deep Learning for a Digital Age: Technology's Untapped Potential for Higher Education (Jossey-Bass, 2002). This book outlines a "bricks and clicks" model for e-learning, called "depth education," that utilizes virtual spaces (or "knowledge rooms") to teach skills in knowledge management and to cultivate connection between students and educators. Portions of the book were published as the lead article in September-October 2000 issue of Change ("E-Learning and the Tradeoff Between Richness and Reach in Higher Education").

Dr. Weigel teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses at Eastern University. He resides in West Chester, Pennsylvania, with his wife, Linda Thomasson.