The Vann Center for Ethics was established through a generous gift from Jim (class of 1950) and Lee Vann. Its founding mission was stated by its Advisory Board on 6 May 2008: "The Vann Center for Ethics at Davidson College will foster a broad-based interdisciplinary initiative to bring sustained focus to ethical decision-making and integrity of action and to promote rigorous inquiry and moral reflection on issues and conditions that range from local to global in their significance. The Vann Center will teach students to think self-critically with clarity, to make relevant and valid judgments, and to discriminate among values as they engage in lives of leadership and service." Dr. David Perry became the first Director of the Vann Center for Ethics, joining the faculty as a Professor of Applied Ethics in the Fall of 2009. The Center closed in 2017 when the founding professor, Dr. Perry, left Davidson.