GVPT Associate Professor Stacy Kosko Named President of the International Development Ethics Association

Department of Government and Politics (GVPT) Associate Professor and Director of the College Park Scholars International Studies program Dr. Stacy J. Kosko has been named President of the International Development Ethics Association (IDEA). 

Her election marks a major milestone in the field of development ethics and a distinguished honor for GVPT and the University of Maryland.

IDEA is a unique international, cross-cultural, and interdisciplinary community of philosophers, development scholars, environmental theorists, economists, and practitioners committed to examining the ethical foundations of global development. While many organizations engage with issues of development, IDEA stands alone in its explicit mission to apply ethical principles to development theory, public policy, and on-the-ground practice. Its work centers on three core aims:

• Applying ethical reflection to development goals, strategies, and the relationships between the Global North and South.
• Improving development institutions and practices, guided by rigorous and reasonable ethical principles.
• Fostering solidarity and collaboration among development scholars and practitioners worldwide who are dedicated to more just and equitable development pathways.

Founded in 1984 in Costa Rica, IDEA has deep roots in Maryland. The association’s co-founder and first president, David A. Crocker, a leading development ethicist and Dr. Kosko’s dissertation chair and mentor, has been a member of the UMD community since the 1980s. Crocker led IDEA for 15 years and helped shape the field into what it is today.

Dr. Kosko shared how meaningful it is to follow in her mentor’s footsteps:

“I hope to honor his legacy and contribution to the field. And I hope that my presidency will also be a feather in the cap of GVPT. As a development ethicist, being chosen to lead IDEA is a tremendous honor — basically as good as it gets.”

A development ethicist by training, Dr. Kosko holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and International Development from the University of Maryland and an M.S. in Foreign Service and International Conflict Management from Georgetown University. Her research focuses on development ethics, human rights, human-centered development, and the experiences of severely marginalized populations.

Dr. Kosko’s leadership extends across numerous organizations. Now the President of IDEA, she is also a Fellow and former Officer of the Human Development and Capabilities Association and is the Vice Chair of the Board and Director of Research and Strategy at the Center for Values in International Development. She also co-founded UMD’s Experiential Learning Working Group and previously served nine years as Associate Director of the Minor in International Development and Conflict Management. 

Dr. Kosko’s presidency reflects IDEA’s foundational vision articulated by development theorist Denis Goulet, who emphasized:
“Development ethics is useless unless it can be translated into public action… The central question is: How can moral guidelines influence decisions of those who hold power?”

As IDEA’s new president, Dr. Kosko will help advance this mission — bringing ethical clarity, global collaboration, and the UMD spirit of engaged scholarship to critical conversations about development, justice, and human well-being.
 

Published on Fri, 12/12/2025 - 11:53