The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity (CBHD) is delighted to announce that we are relocating to LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas. LeTourneau is acquiring CBHD from Trinity International University (TIU) through a grant transfer, and the Center’s staff—Matthew, Bryan, Anna, and Heather—will become LeTourneau employees as of January 1.
Michael J. Sleasman, PhD, has accepted a faculty position in LeTourneau’s School of Theology and Vocation, to begin July 1, as part of LeTourneau’s plan to launch an MA Bioethics program.
LeTourneau University is the Christian Polytechnic University, which positions CBHD well for its next phase, particularly with respect to Bioethics 2.0 issues that involve questions of what it means to be human in our increasingly technological world.
Steven D. Mason, PhD, LeTourneau University President, said of the acquisition:
The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity has for decades cultivated an influential, thoughtful, distinctively Christian approach to some of the most pressing questions of our time related to living, dying, and what it means to be human. I could not be more excited to welcome CBHD to LeTourneau University, where we feel called to steward questions about the relationship between science, advancing technology, and a biblical picture of human flourishing. As the Christian Polytechnic University, we are eager not only to perpetuate and augment the Center’s vital mission in our society but also allow the Center to enhance our own witness, student experience, and service to the church and world.
A core objective of LeTourneau’s strategic plan is to become a trusted national voice in faith, science, and technology. Matthew Eppinette, MBA, PhD, CBHD Executive Director, said that he and everyone at CBHD are excited to begin working alongside LeTourneau in these vital areas.
We are honored to be relocating to LeTourneau University. The school’s deep commitment to being distinctively Christian in all areas of life and work, alongside its focus on faith, science, and technology, are a perfect fit with the mission, vision, values, and work of CBHD.
One area where both organizations have already begun discussions is how the Center and the bioethics program might collaborate with LeTourneau’s biomedical engineering degree. This degree is one of many engineering degrees offered at LeTourneau.
On the clinical side, LeTourneau’s nursing program is ranked #5 in the state of Texas and will provide the Center with additional opportunities to continue its work of equipping Christians in the medical field to address difficult bioethics issues.
What does this mean for CBHD’s annual conference? The hope is that LeTourneau’s location in East Texas (two hours east of Dallas) will allow CBHD to draw people from Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma who will have an easy drive to the campus. And, for CBHD’s Midwestern friends, it is only a two-and-a-half-hour flight from Chicago to DFW, where flights connect to Longview’s East Texas Regional Airport (GGG). Alternatively, one can rent a car and drive to Longview.
Summer 2025 was the last annual conference at the TIU campus, CBHD’s home for thirty years. “I would be remiss,” Eppinette said, “if I did not, in this time of transition, thank TIU for having the vision to launch the Center in 1994, and for all it has done to support our work for more than three decades.”
Eppinette and everyone at CBHD are very grateful to their supporters and donors who have stood by them as they sought a new home. If you would like to make a celebratory gift for the Center to help launch our work at LeTourneau, you can mail checks to the address below or give online at
https://www.letu.edu/development/give-now.html
(Choose Other as the Designation and specify CBHD in the box)
LeTourneau University
CBHD
PO Box 7333
Longview, TX 75607-9913
There will be many details to sort out in the coming weeks and months for CBHD, including moving the Center offices, library, archives, and staff in the new year. Eppinette specifically asks for prayer as they continue through the acquisition and relocation processes.
About The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity
The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity is a Christian academic research center that conducts, disseminates, and advances biblically informed, theologically rich research, analysis, and reflection on the complex and pressing ethical issues in medicine, science, and technology. We exist to foster a distinctly Christian conception of bioethics that engages the academy, equips Christian professionals, supports church leaders, and trains the next generation of Christian bioethicists.
About LeTourneau University
LeTourneau University is a comprehensive institution of Christian higher education where educators engage learners to nurture Christian virtue, to develop competency and ingenuity in their professional fields, to integrate faith and work, and to serve the local and global community.