William “Bill” O’Neill, S.J., Ph.D., Ethics Center director of immigration ethics.
The Markkula Center for Applied Ethics is honored to welcome Fr. William “Bill” O’Neill, S.J., Ph.D. as a newly appointed resident scholar, and will contribute to the Ethics Center as Director of Immigration Ethics.
O’Neill brings extensive academic and practical experience to the Ethics Center, including previously serving as professor emeritus of social ethics at the Jesuit School of Theology, a visiting professor at Hekima University College in Nairobi, Kenya, and an Ethics Center faculty scholar. His publications address human rights, social reconciliation, restorative justice, refugee and immigration policy, race and mass incarceration, ecological ethics, and the role of the church in public life.
A dedicated human rights advocate, O’Neill has been part of the Mission and Identity team at the Jesuit Refugee Service since 2019 and has worked in refugee camps and settlements in Kenya, Uganda, and South Sudan. His work has included aiding single mothers with disabled children, saying that, “Mothers caring for a child that hasn't given up and the love for their children…they’re the real heroes.” O’Neill has also worked with refugees in Tanzania and Malawi and conducted human rights research in South Africa and Rwanda.
At the core of O’Neill’s work is the fundamental belief that “each life is precious,” along with a commitment to “equal dignity” and equal rights for all. He emphasizes the importance of responding to those who are most vulnerable, which he describes as being at the “heart of common ethics.”
His educational background includes receiving a Licentiate in Sacred Theology (S.T.L.) from the Jesuit School of Theology and a Ph.D. from Yale University. O’Neill also serves on the Board of the Society of Christian Ethics and on the Board of the journal Theological Studies, and is a member of the Anglican/Roman Catholic (ARC) Ecumenical Dialogue in the USA and the Jesuit Seminar.
As a resident scholar, O’Neill will be collaborating with Ethics Center faculty and the Bannan Forum of the Ignatian Center for Jesuit Education to continue exploration of human rights, Catholic social teaching, and justice in interfaith conflicts.
Ethics Center Executive Director, Don Heider is enthusiastic about the addition to the staff. "Bill O'Neill brings to the center a remarkable wealth of experience in working with refugees, thinking about immigration, and writing about ethics,” says Heider.
During his time at the Ethics Center, O’Neill looks forward to contributing to the Center’s mission and the broader vision of Santa Clara University. Ethics Center staff are thrilled to have O’Neill on board as resident scholar and to support his meaningful work.
"We're so fortunate to have Bill join us. It would be hard to find someone more accomplished as an ethicist and more experienced in work with the poor, and more personally familiar with our Jesuit tradition. Plus Bill brings a bright light of kindness and humor wherever he goes,” said David DeCosse, Ethics Center director of religious and Catholic ethics.
Grace Woidat ‘25, communications and French studies major and marketing and communications intern at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, contributed to this story.