The University of Indianapolis honored Ken Falk as this year’s recipient of the Kevin R. Armstrong Ethical Leadership Award on March 24.
Lacey Davidson, University of Indianapolis Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion and the Director of the Center for Ethics, said the award is designed to recognize ethical leadership and uplift their work. Davidson and retired Indiana University Health chief mission and values officer Kevin R. Armstrong, who also served as an adjunct faculty member in the philosophy and religion department and is a member of UIndy’s Board of Trustees, select recipients who demonstrate a clear commitment to ethical decision-making in their careers.
Ken Falk, Legal Director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Indiana and an adjunct professor at the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law, graduated from Columbia University in 1977 with honors. He has spent more than five decades advocating for civil liberties, according to Davidson.
Falk has argued multiple cases before the U.S. Supreme Court, including one challenging the city of Indianapolis’ use of drug-interdiction checkpoints as a violation of the Fourth Amendment, according to the ACLU. Davidson said the case reflects Falk’s broader commitment to civil liberties, examining “whether law enforcement can search your car at a random traffic stop.”
“It seems like such a simple thing, right?” Davidson said. “But the right not to have unreasonable ones [searches] is one of our liberties. It’s just a clear example of his commitment to fighting for civil liberties.”
Davidson said Falk was not selected for a single accomplishment, but for his long-standing commitment to monitoring legal and ethical issues at both the state and federal levels, addressing them through the courts when necessary.
The award also serves as an opportunity to connect students and the university community with examples of ethical leadership in practice, according to Armstrong. He said he believes ethical leadership is important anytime, but especially now because “we currently live in a culture, where not just on a political scale but on a social scale, we’ve seen what harm [that] dishonesty can do and not treating everyone as equal under the law.” Highlighting leaders like Falk can help broaden students’ understanding of ethical leadership, according to Armstrong.
“When you get down to the core principle of freedom of speech or the freedom to practice religion, it’s people like Ken [Falk] who think very deeply and understand the impact of… representing people who have been strong advocates of civil rights and whose freedom of speech has been violated,” Armstrong said. “He’s a courageous and fair leader.”
