Two Clark Honors College Students, Rachel Grant and Michael Enseki-Frank, were among an elite group invited to discuss their research on international ethics and human rights at a recent meeting of the Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs in New York City.

The two appeared at the annual Ethics Fellows of the Future Conference held Oct. 20-23. Grant is majoring in Japanese, economics and Asian studies and Enseki-Frank is studying economics and math with a minor in Japanese; both are seniors.

Grant presented research on the importance of increasing the number of women in the labor force in Japan, especially in leadership roles. She considered outcomes of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzō Abe's structural reforms intended to help women in order to highlight the ethical dimension of his promises.

Enseki-Frank analyzed Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution, which renounces war and militarism, and Abe’s efforts to revise it.  He highlighted international concern about Japan’s effort to remilitarize, and concluded by calling for a U.S. foreign policy that supports a demilitarized Japan.

“Rachel and Michael are exemplary representatives of the Carnegie Global Oregon Ethics Program, and I’m delighted that they were able to share their perspectives with a world-class group of scholars and students in New York,” Cohen said. Devin Stewart, senior program director of the Carnegie Council, found their presentations “demonstrated that the University of Oregon, and its Carnegie Oregon students, are well-prepared to participate with the best undergraduates anywhere.”

The Carnegie Council pursues the mission of human rights and dignity for all people through ethical international policy. Grant and Enseki-Frank were recently named Carnegie Ethics Fellows for the Future. They join a cohort of 23 undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate fellows representing eight countries.

Both students were nominated by UO resident Global Ethics Fellow Shaul Cohen, professor of geography and director of the Carnegie Global Oregon Program, and Ethics Fellow alum Cheyney Ryan, director of the Human Rights Program at Oxford. Fellows are leading scholars who contribute to a global discussion of the ethical dimensions of international affairs.

The Carnegie Global Oregon program is unique at the university in that the program begins with a residential Freshman Interest Group and continues until graduation and includes cohort-based classes and extracurricular activities.