Walter W. Tunstall

Walter W. Tunstall, Ph.D. earned his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University. Over the course of his career, he taught at numerous colleges in Virginia and Washington State, bringing a rigorous academic perspective to the study of human dignity and ethics.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Tunstall dedicated significant professional effort to working with persons with chronic disabilities in both Virginia and Washington State — a vocation that deeply informed his understanding of dignity not as an abstract concept, but as a lived, practical reality that must be actively protected and nurtured.

In On the Origin of Dignity: Its Creation and Enhancement, Dr. Tunstall draws on this rich combination of scholarly training and direct human service to offer a compelling account of where dignity comes from and how it can be strengthened. He is retired and lives in Olympia, Washington.