21st Annual Thomas H. Lake Lecture with Meghan Sullivan, PhD

The Samaritan, the Levite, and Innkeeper: Three Approaches to the Ethics of Philanthropy 

Join Lake Institute on Faith & Giving for the 21st annual Thomas H. Lake lecture on Thursday, September 4, 2026, from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. This year’s lecture, The Samaritan, the Levite, and the Innkepper: Three Approaches to the Ethics of Philanthropy, will feature Meghan Sullivan, PhD, as she explores the moral foundations of generosity and the different ways we understand our responsibilities to others.

WHEN: Thursday, September 3, 2026 | 4:30-6:00 pm

WHERE: Hine Hall Auditorium, 875 W North St, Indianapolis, IN 46202

In person & online | Reception to follow

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About the Lecture

What does it truly mean to love humanity? Long before it became associated with modern nonprofits and foundations, the nature of philanthropy was up for fierce philosophical debate in the ancient world. Join us as we dive into one of history’s most famous stories—the Parable of the Good Samaritan—and look at it through a fresh lens. We’ll explore the ethical frameworks embedded in the story and what it can teach us about different approaches to giving and caring for others. You’ll walk away with meaningful insights to help guide your own thinking about how we practice philanthropy today.

About the Speaker

Meghan Sullivan is the Wilsey Family Professor of Philosophy and Director of Notre Dame’s Institute for Ethics and the Common Good. The university hub for research and teaching in ethics, the Institute includes the new Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C, Center for Virtue Ethics and the Notre Dame–IBM Technology Ethics Lab. The Institute is home to faculty, program chairs, postdoctoral fellows, PhD students, and undergraduates and runs several residential fellowship programs for faculty, nonprofit leaders, and faith leaders. Sullivan currently directs a $50M grant with the Lilly Endowment to build a network of educators, faith leaders, technologists, journalists and others to consider what human formation looks like in the era of powerful AI.

Past Lake Lectures

Title: “Remaking the Commons: Forming a Moral Imagination for Possession and Philanthropy in Place”
Speaker: Dr. Willie Jennings
Date: April 11, 2025
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Title: “Generosity of Spirit: Exploring Jewish Traditions and Relational Philanthropy”
Speaker: Susannah Heschel
Date: April 18, 2024
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2023 – Mona Siddiqui

Title: “Art, Philanthropy, and Belonging: The Disruptive Nature of Giving”
Speaker: Mona Siddiqui
Date: March 2, 2023
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2022 – David Brooks & Anne Snyder

Title: “Revival or Decline? American Faith and Philanthropy Face the Future”
Speakers: David Brooks & Anne Snyder
Date: March 31, 2022
Read transcripts: David and Anne
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2019 – Lynne Twist

Title: “The Soul of Money: Shifting from Scarcity to Abundance”
Speaker: Lynne Twist, author of The Soul of Money
Date: April 11, 2019
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2018 – Scott Harrison

Title: “Reinventing Charity”
Speaker: Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of charity:water
Date: March 8, 2018
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2017 – Eboo Patel

Title: “Building a Diverse Democracy: Exploring the Theologies and Practice of Interfaith Cooperation.”
Speaker: Eboo Patel, Ph.D., Founder and President of Interfaith Youth Core
Date: March 30, 2017
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2016 – Jonathan Walton

Title: “Jesus, Chief Executive: The Gospel of Health and Wealth at the Core of American Religion.”
Speaker: Jonathan Walton, Ph.D., Plummer Professor of Christian Morals, the Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church and Professor of Religion and Society at Harvard Divinity School
Date: March 31, 2016
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2015 – Christian Smith

Title: “The Generosity Equation: Donors, Faith, & Avenues to Giving”
Speaker: Christian Smith, Ph.D., William R. Kenan, Jr. Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society at the University of Notre Dame
Date: March 12, 2015
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2014 – Craig Dykstra

Title: “Cultivating Thriving Communities of Faith: The Promise of Strategic Religious Philanthropy”
Speaker: Craig Dykstra, Ph.D., Research Professor of Practical Theology and Senior Fellow in Leadership Education at Duke Divinity School
Date: March 27, 2014
Watch video | Read lecture

2013 – Ann Braude

Title: “Walking the Second Mile: Women, Religion, and Philanthropy”
Speaker: Ann Braude, Ph.D., director of the Women’s Studies in Religion Program and Senior Lecturer on American Religious History at Harvard Divinity School
Date: April 11, 2013
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2012 – James Hodge

Title: “If Philanthropy Is All About Relationships, Then Why Do Metrics Only Measure Money?”
Speaker: James M. Hodge III, Vice Chair and Director of Principal Gifts at the Mayo Clinic
Date: March 22, 2012
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2011 – Richard Gunderman

Title: “The Undiminished Flame: Education, Giving and the Quest for Faith”
Speaker: Richard Gunderman, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Radiology, Pediatrics, Medical Education, Philosophy, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy at Indiana University
Date: March 24, 2011
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2010 – Ingrid Mattson

Title: “Zakat in America: The Evolving Role of Islamic Charity in Community Cohesion”
Speaker: Ingrid Mattson, Ph.D., Professor of Islamic Studies and founder of the Islamic Chaplaincy Program and director of the Macdonald Center for the Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations
Date: March 25, 2010
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2009 – Elliot Dorff

Title: “Donations of Ill-Gotten Gain: A Jewish Legal Perspective”
Speaker: Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, Ph.D., Rector and Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the American Jewish University in Los Angeles
Date: March 26, 2009
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2008 – Paul Schervish

Title: “Receiving & Giving as Spiritual Exercise: The Spirituality of Care in Soul, Relationship, and Community”
Speaker: Paul Schervish, Ph.D., Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Wealth and Philanthropy (CWP) at Boston College, and National Research Fellow at the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy
Date: April 10, 2008
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2007 – Mark Noll

Title: “The Logic of Evangelicalism & The Challenges of Philanthropy”
Speaker: Mark Noll, Ph.D., the Francis A. McAnaney Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame and co-founder of The Institute for the Study of American Evangelicalism
Date: March 29, 2007
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2006 – Luke Timothy Johnson

Title: “The Life of Faith & the Faithful Use of Possessions”
Speaker: Luke Timothy Johnson, Ph.D., the R.W. Woodruff Professor of New Testament and Christian Origins at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University
Date: April 6, 2006
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2005 – Martin Marty

Title: “The Market & the Donor: Creative Destruction and Creative Construction”
Speaker: Martin Marty, Ph.D., the Fairfax M. Cone Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus at the University of Chicago
Date: March 10, 2005
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2003 – Robert Wuthnow

Title: “Faith & Giving: From Christian Charity to Spiritual Practice”
Speaker: Robert Wuthnow, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton University
Date: September 25, 2003
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