Correspondence, memorandums, subject files, bibliographies, course syllabi, clippings, 1971 - 1974

The series contains records of the Kennedy Institute of Ethics (KIE) that Walters maintained as the Director of the Center for Bioethics (1971-1993), as Director of the KIE (1996-2000), and as the principal investigator of grants related to the bioethics library. The records include correspondence, memorandums, meeting agendas and notes, grants, strategic planning and budget documents, lecture announcements, bibliographies, typescripts on bioethical topics, and course listings and syllabi.

The series extensively documents the operations of the KIE from its founding to the 2010s, particularly the 1970s and late 1990s to 2010. It includes communications with Andre Hellegers, the Shrivers, KIE scholars, and an assortment of philosophers, theologians, and experts in medical ethics. It documents educational programs, such as internships, courses taught by Walters, and the Intensive Bioethics Course. Strategic planning for the KIE is documented throughout the series.

There is also thorough documentation of the Institute's library and its pioneering information retrieval projects, such as the bioethics classification system, Bibliography of Bioethics, Encyclopedia of Bioethics, and the BIOETHICSLINE database. The records document the establishment of the National Reference Center for Bioethics Literature, the National Information Resource on Ethics and Human Genetics, and the Human DNA Patent Database. Some additional records of note include bioethics bibliographies created by Walters and the library staff, correspondence that document the dispersal of these early bibliographies (Correspondence, 1971), and records that document collaborations with colleagues in Europe.

The series includes documents created in response to the National Commission, including “A Preliminary Analysis of the Draft DHEW Guidelines for the Protection of Special Subjects in Biomedical Research” (Miscellaneous Memorandums, 1973-1974) and a memorandum on who should be nominated as commissioners (Memorandums, August-October 1974).

Other topics include the War-Nation-Church-Study Group and US-Japanese bioethics partnerships.