Don C. Postema

Office: AC 309
Ext: 6404
P.O. Box: 71
E-mail: d-postema@bethel.edu

Academic Degrees

• Ph.D., Columbia University
• M. Phil., Columbia University
• M.T.S., Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
• B.A., Wheaton College

Short Biography

Dr. Postema has special interests in the philosophy of art and bio- and health care ethics. He is incredibly active in the local and professional communities, merging theory and practice into an integrated life of philosophy and activism.

He is the Ethics Consultant for Regions Hospital, and is Chair of the HealthPartners Ethics Committee.  In addition, he works with local and national Institutional Review Boards for the Protection of Human Subjects. 

Dr. Postema is also the Ethicist-in-Residence at Gillette Children's Specialty HealthCare in St. Paul.  In addition to ethics consulting at that location, he is also involved in medical and rehab rounds and ethics education in the residency program, where he practices "preventive ethics" (anticipating ethical issues in cases and systems before they become acute and addressing them early in the process).

Dr. Postema serves as the Community Member (the person who under the Animal Welfare Act represents the interests of the larger society) of the 3M Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC).  This committee is charged with reviewing and monitoring all use of animals in research at 3M--everything from testing new compounds for pharmaceutical use to testing Post It Notes adhesives to be sure they're not toxic.

He is a frequent speaker for community groups.  His other interests include canoeing in the Boundary Waters and residential construction.  The photograph above is Dr. Postema working with Habitat for Humanity on a St. Paul house. 

As a service to the Bethel community, Dr. Postema began the Bethel Film Forum 26 years ago, and continues to organize and facilitate it each year.

Click here for a link to the Bethel University Film Forum poster for 2009-2010.

Areas of Interest

• Ethics
• Health Care Ethics
• Aesthetics
• Philosophy & Culture
• Modern & Contemporary Philosophy