[1] Its first director, André Hellegers [es], said the institution's goal was to "bring expertise to the new and growing ethical problems in medicine today."

The Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation granted $1.35 million to the Institute, contributing to the establishment of its Bioethics Research Library and providing for two Chairs.

The Institute was soon in need of more financial support, which it received from Georgetown University and by several public, private and governmental grants.

The philosopher Tom Beauchamp and the bioethicist Robert Veatch were among the first scholars to join the Kennedy Institute of Ethics.

[5] The Bioethics Research Library, founded by André Hellegers and the theology professor LeRoy Walters, was formalized in June 1973.