Established on 03.14.2006 by Edward H. Carus Jr. on behalf of the Alwin C. and M. Elisabeth Carus Trust
Alwin C. Carus and his sister, M. Elisabeth Carus, grew up at LaSalle, Illinois, and attended the University of Chicago, where Alwin established strong, lifelong connections that represented his deep interests in philosophy, science, and religion to the Oriental Institute.
Their family, the Carus and Hegeler families, have been in LaSalle since their grandfather, Edward C. Hegeler, co-founded Matthiesen-Hegeler Chemical Company there in 1858. It has continuously operated as one of the world's largest manufacturers of zinc and is now known as the Carus Corporation. The Carus Corporation is within sight and sound of the majestic Hegeler-Carus Mansion, where Alwin and M. Elisabeth lived virtually all of their lives.
The Hegeler and Carus families, going back several generations to their origins in Germany, including Alwin and M. Elisabeth's father, Paul (1852-1919), have had deep interests in world religions. To disseminate his own thoughts and others', who, in their search for truth, explored world religions, Edward C. Hegeler, Paul's father-in-law, in 1887, founded The Open Court Publishing Company. It has since published The Monist, "devoted to the Philosophy of Science."
Having come to North Dakota in 1939 and, over their lifetimes, acquired 23,000 acres of land and mineral rights, Alwin and M. Elisabeth, in their estates, established charitable trusts that, over the trusts' respective 20-year terms, have made distributions to Concordia College beginning in 2006.
Concordia College created The Alwin C. and M. Elisabeth Carus Professorship in Philosophy in recognition of Alwin's and M. Elisabeth's gifts and their family's century-and-a-half investments in and commitments to the study of philosophy, science, and religion. An annual lecture, known as the Carus Lectureship, was also established to bring a prominent philosopher to Concordia College. The Alwin C. and M. Elisabeth Carus Professorship in Philosophy supports the expenses related to the Carus Lectureship. In recent years, the Carus Lectureship has featured the following speakers:
September 23, 2021
Richard Shusterman
Professor of Philosophy and the Dorothy F. Schmidt Eminent Scholar in the Humanities at Florida Atlantic University
"Ethics and Aesthetics: From Pragmatist Philosophy to the Art of Living”
October 4, 2019
Dr. John Kaag
Chair/Professor of Philosophy at UMass Lowell
"Can Philosophy Save Your Life?”
October 11, 2018
Dr. Mark Sullivan
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Washington and psychiatrist at the UWMC Center for Pain Relief and the Regional Heart Center
"Investigating Opioids Inside and Out to Better Understand Our Current Epidemic”