Joanne B. Ciulla

Joanne Bridgett Ciulla, born on June 16, 1952, is a distinguished American philosopher recognized for her pioneering contributions to the field of leadership ethics. She also actively teaches and publishes on business ethics. Ciulla holds a Ph.D. from Temple University (1985), an M.A. from the University of Delaware (1976), and a B.A. from the University of Maryland (1973). Her academic career began at La Salle University in 1975. She was a Harvard Postdoctoral Fellow in Business and Ethics at Harvard Business School in 1984 and later a senior fellow at the Wharton School in 1986. From 1991, she served as the Coston Family Chair in Leadership and Ethics at the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies, where she played a key role in designing the school and its curriculum. After retiring as Professor Emerita in 2016, she became Professor of Leadership Ethics and Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership at Rutgers Business School. Ciulla has also held leadership positions in academic societies, serving as president of the Society for Business Ethics (2009–2010) and the International Society for Business Economics and Ethics (ISBEE) (2012–2016). She married René P. F. Kanters in 1990, and they reside in New York City. Her research critically examines the ethical dimensions unique to leadership roles, exploring the intersection of being both ethical and effective. She has utilized historical and philosophical perspectives to deepen the understanding of leadership ethics. Ciulla is credited with developing the field of leadership ethics starting in 1995, authoring seminal articles and textbooks that use case studies and philosophical sources. She has also edited numerous collections and co-edited reference works to foster scholarly engagement in this area. Her work is interdisciplinary, drawing from philosophy, social sciences, and management studies, and addresses topics such as ethical leadership, toxic leadership, power, trust, care, responsibility, dirty hands, and moral luck, often referencing classical philosophers like Aristotle and Kant.