Carol A. Tauer Papers

Dr. Carol A. Tauer's career encompassed the disciplines of mathematics, philosophy, and ethics. She received her Ph.D. in mathematics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963. From 1963-1969, she worked as an Assistant Professor in mathematics at the College of St. Catherine and was named Associate Professor and department chair in 1970, a position she held until 1976. She then attended Georgetown University, working as a lecturer and research fellow from 1976-1978 and obtaining her Ph.D. in philosophy in 1982. In 1978, Dr. Tauer was named Professor of Philosophy at the College of St. Catherine, serving as chair of the Philosophy Department from 1988-1990 and again from 1996-1997.

Dr. Tauer taught biomedical ethics for twenty-three years and is a distinguished scholar in this field. She was an ethics consultant on end-of-life decision making at numerous medical centers in the Twin Cities area, and she participated in a number of high-profile ethics panels, including an NIH Advisory Panel and the Committee on Ethics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She has published ethical studies of biomedical issues ranging from in vitro fertilization to gene therapy. During the 2000s, Dr. Tauer was a visiting professor at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota.

Dr. Tauer was named the 1990 Minnesota Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). She was also awarded the Board of Trustees Excellence in Teaching Award in 1991 and the Myser Award for Faculty Excellence in 2009.

Early in her career, Dr. Tauer was a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet. During those years, she was known as Sister Rita Jean.