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Are you a Department of Philosophy graduate alumnus? Send us your updates and changes and we'll include them here. E-mail Anita Wallace at walla027@umn.edu.
Note: we are currently working on a more user-friendly formatting of this information and therefore not everything below is up-to-date. In the meantime, please continue to send updates and changes to Anita Wallace.
A-C, D-F, G-I, J-L, M-O, P-R, S-U, V-Z
Tatiana Abatemarco, MA 2006, whose work was co-advised by Valerie Tiberius and Naomi Scheman, is pursuing graduate work in Natural Resources and Environmental Studies at the University of Vermont.
Kristin Andrews, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Predicting Mind: Belief Attribution in Philosophy and Psychology,” was advised by Ronald Giere, is a tenured Associate Professor at York University in Toronto, and Director of the Cognitive Science Program.
Denis Arnold, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Coercion and Moral Responsibility,” was co-advised by Norman Bowie and Norman Dahl, is a tenured Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of Graduate Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Thomas Atchison, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “False Consciousness: A Study of Methodological Problems of Critical Social Theories,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, is a a tenure-track associate professor of philosophy at Metropolitan State University.
Marilyn Bennett, Ph.D. 1994, whose dissertation “Autonomy, Beneficence, and Persuasion” was advised by Norman Dahl. She is a tenured Associate Professor of Philosophy at the College of Saint Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Lisa Bergin, Ph.D. 1998, whose dissertation, “Knowledge, Communication, and Difference: an Integrative Theory,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Helen Longino, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
Joseph Bessie, Ph.D. 1991, whose dissertation, “Theories of Probabilistic Causality,” was advised by C. Anthony Anderson, is Vice President for Academic Affairs at Saint Martin's University, Lacey, Washington.
Selected publications: Elements of Deductive Inference, 2000.
Janet Binder, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Journeys of Understanding: the Epistemic Value of Movement,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Naomi Scheman, is an adjunct faculty member at Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Larry Blackman, Ph.D. 1976, is currently Professor of Philosophy at the State University of New York, College at Geneseo.
Selected Publications: “Mind as Intentionality Alone,” Metaphysica: International Journal for Ontology and Metaphysics; “Herbert Hochberg,” Dictionary of Modern American Philosophers; The Philosophy of Panayot Butchvarov: A Collegial Evaluation (Lewiston, New York, Edwin Mellen Press, 2005); “Another Look at J.N. Findlay's 'Ontological Disproof of the Existence of God',” The International Journal of the Humanities, Vol. 3 (2005).
Luc Bovens, Ph.D. 1990, whose dissertation, “Reasons for Preferences,” was advised by H.E. Mason, is a Professor of Philosophy at the London School of Economics, Department of Philosophy, Logic and Scientific Method.
Selected Publications: Bayesian Epistemology, with Stephen Hartman, Oxford University Press, 2004.
Allen Brinton, Ph.D. 1974, Professor Emeritus, Boise State University.
Selected Publications: with Douglas Walton, Historical Foundations of Informal Logic, Ashgate Press, 1997.
David Brokken, Ph.D. 2004, whose dissertation, “Disclosure: The Hidden Weakness in Informed Consent,” was advised by Jasper Hopkins, teaches philosophy at the University of St. Thomas and mathematics at the University of Minnesota as an adjunct faculty member.
Katherine Gray Brown, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Resistance and Resilience: MacIntyre's Communitarianism and the Cherokee Tribal Tradition,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Peace Studies at Manchester College in Indiana.
Michael Brown, Ph.D. 2005, whose dissertation, “Matters of Conscience: Justice and Protest in Society,” was co-advised by Sarah Holtman and Douglas Lewis, is a visiting assistant professor of philosophy at Manchester College, Manchester, IN.
Robert Brownawell, MA 2005, was advised by Norman Dahl, Norman Bowie, and Michelle Mason.
Melissa Burchard, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Returning to the Body: A Philosophical Reconceptualization of Violence,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Naomi Scheman, is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina, Asheville.
James Burnett, Ph.D. 2002, whose dissertation, “From Genetic Etiology to Genetic Disease Entity: Understanding Claims about Pre-Symptomatic Genetic Disease States,” was advised by Ronald Giere, is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
John Cabral, Ph.D. 2002, whose dissertation, “Psychological Explanation as Scientific Explanation,” was advised by Joseph Owens, is working at Cycorp in Austin, Texas.
Jennifer Callahan, Ph.D. 2003, whose dissertation, “All for One: Consumer Culture and Civic Virtue,” was advised by Sarah Holtman, is working as an editor at the University of Chicago Press in Chicago, Illinois.
Miriam Cameron, MA 1994, whose MA work was advised by Douglas Lewis, is currently a faculty member of the University of Minnesota Center for Spirituality and Healing. Her work integrates Western Philosophy and Tibetan thought.
Selected Publications: Karma and Happiness: A Tibetan Odyssey in Ethics, Spirituality, and Healing. (Foreword by the Dalai Lama), Fairview Press, 2001.
Michael Casper, Ph.D. 2001, whose dissertation, “Conceptualizing Truth: Philosophical Implications of the Cognitive Linguistic Theory of Metaphor,” was advised by Ronald Giere, works at the Oregon Department of Justice where he is the Deputy Solicitor General.
Ho Mun Chan, Ph.D. 1994, whose dissertation, “Formalization, Complexity and Adaptive Rationality, ” was advised by C. Wade Savage, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Public and Social Administration at the City University of Hong Kong.
Selected Publications: “Sharing Death and Dying: Advance Directives, Autonomy and the Family”, Bioethics 2004; 18(2): 87-103; “Rawls' Theory of Justice: a Naturalistic Evaluation”, Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 2005; 30(5): 449-465.
Carl Chung, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Essence, Variation, and Evolution: An Analysis of Ernst Mayr's Distinction between 'Typological' and 'Population' Thinking,” was co-advised by Kenneth Waters and John Beatty, is a philosophy instructor at Century College, White Bear Lake, MN.
Jay Conison, M.A. 1978, is Dean of the School of Law, Valparaiso University.
Selected Publications: "The Architecture of Accreditation," Iowa Law Review (forthcoming); "Success, Status, and the Goals of a Law School", University of Toledo Law Review 23 (2005); "Assurance, Reliance, and Expectation," California Interdisciplinary Law Journal 335 (1998); "The Pragmatics of Promise," Canadian Journal of Law and Jurisprudence 273 (1997).
Larry Crockett, Ph.D. 1990, is a full professor at Augsburg College, where he directed the Honors Program for sixteen years. Also a priest in the Diocese of Minnesota, spring 2006 finds him on sabbatical in Tennessee writing a science-and-religion paper. He can be reached at ljcrockett@gmail.com.
Selected Publications: The Turing Test and the Frame Problem, Ablex, 1994; Teaching and Learning in Honors, National Collegiate Honors Council Publications, 2000.
Margaret Crouch, Ph.D. 1985, Professor of Philosophy, Eastern Michigan University.
Selected Publications: Thinking About Sexual Harassment: A Guide for the Perplexed, Oxford Univ. Press, 2000.
Michael Degnan, Ph.D. 1990, whose dissertation, “The Role of Reason in Aristotle's Notion of the Good of Man,” was co-advised by Sandra Peterson and Norman Dahl, is a tenured Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Stephen Donaho, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “Representational Semantic Theories for Natural Languages,” was advised by John Dolan, is a tenured faculty member at Normandale Community College in Minneapolis.
Selected Publications: “Are Declarative Sentences Representational?", Mind 107 (1998), pp. 33-58; “Standard Quantification Theory in the Analysis of English",Journal of Philosophical Logic 31 (2002), pp. 499-526
Shane Drefcinski, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “A Defense of Aristotle's Doctrine of the Unity of the Virtues,” was co-advised by Norman Dahl and Sandra Peterson, is a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin at Platteville.
Christopher Eliot, Ph.D. 2004, whose dissertation, “Exceptions Make the Rules,” was advised by Kenneth Waters, is an Associate Professor at Hofstra University.
Steven Elkin, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “A Wittgensteinian Characterization of Individualist and Social Views of the Self,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, is a Major Gifts Officer at Haverford College, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Previously he served as a Development Officer at Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa and as a Development Associate and fund-raiser for the Plymouth Music Series in Minneapolis.
Michelle Elliott, Ph.D. 2003, whose dissertation, “Spinoza's Metaphysics and its Place in Early Modern Philosophy,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, also pursued a supporting program in art history. She recently married and moved to North Carolina, where she will manage an art gallery and enjoy learning about art collection development and acquisition.
Sandra Fairbanks, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Kantian Moral Theory and the Destruction of the Self,” was advised by Norman Dahl, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida.
Selected Publications: Kantian Moral Theory and the Destruction of the Self, Westview Press, 2000.
Kevin Falvey, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Externalism, Self-Knowledge, and Skepticism,” was advised by Joseph Owens, received tenure in Fall '01 at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Daniel Flory, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Fear of Imagination in Western Philosophy and Ethics,” was advised by Keith Gunderson, is a tenured Associate Professor of Philosophy at Montana State University at Bozeman.
Scott Forschler, Ph.D. 2004, whose dissertation “A Defense of Justificatory Rule Theory: Deriving Consequentialist Ethics from Practical Reason,” was co-advised by Norman Bowie and Valerie Tiberius, is currently a part-time Librarian at Hamline University while looking for a tenure-track teaching position.
Selected publications: “How to Make Universalization Tests Work”, Journal of Value Inquiry, forthcoming.
Bryan Frances, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “Propositional Attitudes and Physicalism,” was advised by Joseph Owens, is a tenured Associate Professor at Fordham University in New York. Previously he held a tenure-track position at the University of Leeds in England.
Selected publications: Skepticism Comes Alive, Oxford University Press, forthcoming; “When a Skeptical Hypothesis is Live”, Nous, forthcoming; “Live Skeptical Hypotheses”, in The Oxford Handbook of Skepticism, forthcoming; “Externalism, Physicalism, Statues, and Hunks”, Philosophical Studies, forthcoming.
Geoffrey Gorham, Ph.D 1994, whose dissertation 'The Structure of Theoretical Progress' was advised by Ronald Giere, is an associate professor of philosophy at St. Olaf College.
Selected publications: “Cartesian Causation: Continuous, Instantaneous, Overdetermined”, Journal of the History of Philosophy, 2004, 42: 389 - 423.
Heidi Grasswick, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Socialized Individuals in Epistemic Communities: Keeping the Normative Project of Epistemology Alive,” was co-advised by Helen Longino and Naomi Scheman, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont.
James Harold, Ph.D. 2001, whose dissertation, “The Coherence of Value,” wasco- advised by Norman Dahl and Marcia Eaton, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Weissman Center for Leadership and the Liberal Arts at Mount Holyoke College.
Selected publications: "Can Expressivists Tell the Difference Between Beauty and Moral Goodness?" American Philosophical Quarterly 45:3 (July 2008): 289-300; "Immoralism and the Valence Constraint," British Journal of Aesthetics 48.1 (January 2008): 45-64; "Infected by Evil," Philosophical Explorations 8.2 (June 2005): 173-187.
Michael Harvey, Ph.D. 1998, whose dissertation, “Freedom of Belief and Liberal Democratic Theory,” was advised by Sandra Peterson, is an adjunct faculty member at the Century Community College in White Bear Lake, Minnesota.
Amy Hilden, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Pregnancy as a Developing Relationship: Implications for the Construction of Fetal Personhood,” was advised by Naomi Scheman, is a tenured Associate Professor and Department Chair at the College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Lisa Hoelle, M.A. 2009, who entered as a Ph.D. student at the University of Minnesota, was recently accepted as a Ph.D. graduate student at Emory University in the department of religion (Jewish Religious Cultures/ Ethics and Society). She recently completed her M.Div. at the Graduate Theological Union.
Jaime Hoffman, Ph.D. 2005, whose dissertation, “Depression, Narratives, and the Self,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Valerie Tiberius, is a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Minnesota in Duluth.
Kristen Houlton, M.A. 2006, whose thesis “The Politics of Beauty,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, John Wallace, Naomi Scheman, and August Nimtz, is currently the Training Director for a non-governmental organization based in Nairobi, Kenya.
Tomas Hribek, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “The Metaphysics of Anti-Individualism” was advised by Joseph Owens is currently working as a researcher and journal reviewer in Prague.
Brian Huss, Ph.D. 2002, whose dissertation “Rationality, Pragmatism, and True Belief” was advised by Ronald Giere, has taught for several years as a full time instructor of philosophy in the Atkinson Philosophy Department of York University in Toronto. He was recently hired to a tenure-track appointment at State University of New York at Potsdam.
Jeremy Iggers, Ph.D. 1993, Journalist, Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Selected Publications: The Garden of Eating: Food, Sex, and the Hunger for Meaning, Basic Books, 1999. Good News, Bad News: Journalism, Ethics and the Public Interest, Westview Press, 1999.
Amy Ihlan, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Valuing the Particular: Context, Moral Practice, and Politics,” was advised by H. Eugene Mason, recently decided to leave her tenure track position at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa in order to practice law in the Twin Cities.
Ramona Ilea, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation, “Moral Philosophy and Social Change,” was co-advised by Naomi Scheman and Helen Longino, has a tenure-track appointment as Assistant Professor at Pacific University in Portland, Oregon.
Monica Janzen, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “Hospitality: Resolving Gross Inequalities of Welfare and Cultivating Civic Virtue” was co-advised by Sarah Holtman and John Wallace, is teaching part-time at the University of St. Thomas, and raising two young children.
Paul Jeffries, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “After MacIntyre: A Role for Tradition in Moral Philosophy,” was advised by Norman Dahl, is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy in a tenure-track position at Ripon College in Wisconsin.
Jeff Johnson, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “Pictures and Examples” was advised by Keith Gunderson, is currently teaching as a visiting assistant professor at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Gregory Kaebnick, Ph.D. 1998, whose dissertation, “Reasons without Rules: Particularist Moral Justification and the Decision to Stop Medical Treatment,” was advised by H. Eugene Mason, is an Editor of the Hastings Center Report at the Hastings Center in New York.
Peter Kosso, Ph.D. 1986, Professor of Philosophy, Northern Arizona University.
Selected Publications: Appearance and Reality: an Introduction to the Philosophy of Physics, Oxford University Press, 1997.
Toben Lafrancois, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “Taxonomic Resolution in Ecology” was advised by C. Kenneth Waters, is a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. Olaf College.
Kevin Lattery, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “The Epistemology of Experimental Systems in Biological Research,” was advised by C. Kenneth Waters, is the Senior Director of Marketing Science at Maritz Research.
Chung-Hyoung Lee, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation, “Uses of Quantum Measurements,” was advised by Geoffrey Hellman, has a tenure-track appointment as Assistant Professor at Kyunghee University (South Korea).
Ernie Lepore, Ph.D. 1978, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University.
Selected Publications: with K.Ludwig, Donald Davidson: Truth, Meaning, Rationality, and Mind, Oxford University Press, 2001. Meaning and Argument: An Introduction to Logic Through Language, Blackwell, 2000. with Zenon Pylyshyn, What is Cognitive Science?, Blackwell, 1999.
Margarita R. Levin, Ph.D. 1986, whose dissertation “On the New Empiricism in the Philosophy of Mathematics,” was advised by William Hanson, has been teaching since 1987 at Stern College, Yeshiva University in New York City.
Shaoxin Lin, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Confucian Ethics and the Concept of Rights,” was advised by H. Eugene Mason, is a computer programmer at TalentSoft, a computer development company in Eagan, Minnesota.
Andrew Mason, M.A. 1984, was advised by Naomi Scheman and is currently a Professor of Political Theory at the University of Southampton (UK).
Terrance McConnell, Ph.D. 1975, is currently a Professor of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro.
Selected Publications: Gratitude, Temple University Press, 1993. Moral Issues in Health Care, Wadsworth, 2nd ed., 1997. Inalienable Rights, Oxford University Press, 2000.
Howard McGary, Ph.D. 1974, Professor of Philosophy, Rutgers University.
Selected Publications: Race and Social Justice, Blackwell, 1999.
Casey McGinnis, Ph.D. 2007, whose dissertation, “Paraconsistency and Deontic Logic: Formal Systems for Reasoning with Normative Conflicts,” was co-advised by William Hanson and Geoffrey Hellman, is deceased.
Sandra Lee Menssen, Ph.D. 1984, whose dissertation, “Foundations of Theodicy: Is There a Criterion of Goodness for Worlds?”, was advised by John Dolan, is a tenured Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Glen Meyer, Ph.D. 2003, whose dissertation, “Understanding How Mathematics is Applied: An Instrumentalist Versus a Realist Approach,” was advised by Geoffrey Hellman, was working at CyCorp in Austin, Texas and plans to seek an academic position in philosophy.
Christopher Michaelson, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Philosophy out of the Cave: An Expedition in Philosophical Style,” was co-advised by Sandra Peterson and Michael Root, is a Senior Manager and business ethics consultant at PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP, a professional services firm best known for accounting, in New York.
Roberta Millstein, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “The Chances of Evolution: An Analysis of the Roles of Chance in Microevolution and Macroevolution,” was co-advised by Kenneth Waters and John Beatty, is Professor of Philosophy at the University of California, Davis. www.RLM.net
Barton Moffatt, Ph.D. 2008, whose dissertation “Informational Representations of Biological Function” was advised by C. Kenneth Waters, is an Assistant Professor at Mississippi State University.
Thomas Moody, Ph.D. 1982, Associate Professor of Philosophy, California State University - San Bernardino.
Selected Publications: ed., with Richard Schmitt, Alienation and Social Criticism, Humanities Press, 1994.
Kazunobu Narita, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “A Defense of a Human View of Motivation,” was advised by Norman Dahl, is an Associate Professor at Keio University in Japan.
Selected Publications: Responsibility and Freedom, an Essay in Moral Psychology, Keiso Shobu Publishers, 2004, published in Japanese.
Peg O'Connor, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Back to the Rough Ground!: Wittgensteinian Moral Realism,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Naomi Scheman, holds a tenured position in Women's Studies at Gustavus Adolphus College, where she also teaches philosophy. In 2004-05 she was a fellow at the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute.
Selected Publications: Oppression and Responsibility: A Wittgensteinian Approach to Social Practices and Moral Theory, Penn State Univ. Press, 2002. ed., with Naomi Scheman, Feminist Interpretations of Ludwig Wittgenstein, Penn State Univ. Press, 2002.
Garry Pech, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Emotions and Embodiment: Essays on the Metaphysics of Emotion,” was advised by H. Eugene Mason, has a tenured position at the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Anne Phibbs, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Challenging Gender Essentialism: Three Case Studies in Sexual Ethics,” was co-advised by Douglas Lewis and Naomi Scheman, is an advisor for students in the Health Sciences at Metropolitan State University, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Kathryn Plaisance, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “Behavioral Genetics and the Environment: The Generation and Exportation of Scientific Claims” was advised by C. Kenneth Waters, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Waterloo in Canada.
Nancy Nyquist Potter, Ph.D. 1994, Associate Professor of Philosophy, University of Louisville.
Selected Publications: How Can I Be Trusted? A Virtue Theory of Trustworthiness, Rowman Littlefield, 2002.
Scott Pratt, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Inquiry and Social Diversity: John Dewey's Conception of Philosophy,” was advised by Douglas Lewis, was granted tenure in philosophy at the University of Oregon in Fall '01 and has served as department chair.
Selected Publications: Native Pragmatism: Rethinking the Roots of American Philosophy, Indiana Univ. Press, 2002. ed., with Leonard Harris and Anne Waters, American Philosophies: An Anthology, Blackwell, 2001. ed., with John Ryder, The Philosophical Writings of Cadwallader Calden, Humanity Books, 2002.
Laura Rediehs, Ph.D. 1998, whose dissertation, “Relational Realism,” was advised by Ronald Giere, is an Associate Professor and is Chair of the Philosophy Department at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.
Delbert Reed, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Frege in Context,” was advised by Sandra Peterson, has a position as a Reference Services Professional at the University of Minnesota Bio-Medical Library, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Nicholas Reeder, Ph.D. 1996, wrote a dissertation titled “Property Definiteness in Quantum Mechanics: Modal Interpretations” and advised by Geoffrey Hellman. We have not been able to locate Nick Reeder.
Kristina Rolin, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Gender, Emotions, and Epistemic Values in High Energy Physics: A Feminist Challenge for Scientific Methodology,” was co-advised by Ronald Giere and Helen Longino, is a Lecturer at the Helsinki School of Economics and Business Administration in Helsinki, Finland.
Mariana Rodrigues, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “The Ethics of Interpersonal Forgiveness” was co-advised by Sarah Holtman and Norman Dahl, currently teaches at California State University in Los Angeles.
Tanya Rodriguez, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “Empathy and Ethicism” was advised by Marcia Eaton, has been hired as a tenure-track assistant professor, in the Department of Art, Music, and Philosophy at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York.
Pauline Sargent, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Imaging the Brain, Picturing the Mind: Visual Representation in the Practice of Science,” was advised by Ronald Giere, had a two-year NSF Post-Doctoral Fellowship at UC San Diego. She is now Senior Academic Advisor of the College of Arts and Sciences and an adjunct faculty member at the University of New Mexico.
Nathan Sawyer, MA 2006, whose MA work was co-advised by Sarah Holtman and John Wallace, is the Departmental Director for Undergraduate Degree Programs in the College of Continuing Education at the University of Minnesota.
Gregory Schaefer, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation, “Another Look at Moral Realism, with the Aim of Learning About the Kind of Objectivity that We Can Justifiably Attribute to Our Moral Judgments,” was co-advised by Norman Dahl and Marcia Eaton, has a one-year temporary appointment as Visiting Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia.
Walter Schultz, Ph.D. 1997, whose dissertation, “Some Moral Conditions of Pareto-optimal Equilibrium Allocations,” was co-advised by Norman Bowie and Norman Dahl, decided to leave his tenure track position at Cedarville College in Xenia, Ohio and return to Minnesota in order to have more time to work on two books, one on ethics and one a logic textbook. While working on his books, he also teaches philosophy as an adjunct at Bethel Seminary, and teaches introduction to philosophy at University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire.
Selected Publications: The Moral Conditions of Economic Efficiency, Cambridge Univ. Press, 2001.
Peter Shea, Ph.D. 2005, whose dissertation, “The Arguments of Their Lives: A Role for Lives in Moral Reflection and Moral Teaching,” was advised by John Wallace, produces the weekly philosophy show, “The Bat of Minerva,” on Minneapolis regional cable, consults and writes grants for the Hopework Folkschool, conducts workshops in Philosophy for Children, and teaches as an adjunct instructor at Twin Cities colleges. His current employment includes serving as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota.
James Skidmore, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Left Out: Deontological Moral Theory and the Problem of Animals,” was advised by Norman Dahl, is an associate professor of philosophy at Idaho State University. He was recently named an Outstanding Master Teacher (2011).
Jeffrey Smith, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Cognitivism and Relativism: A Study of Wittgensteinian and Discourse Theories of Morality,” was advised by Norman Dahl, is an Assistant Professor in a tenure-track position at the University of Redlands, in Redlands, California. He currently serves as Director of the Center for Business, Ethics, and Society.
Steven Soderholm, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “On Wrongs, Rights, and Responsibilities: A Utilitarian Theory of Punishment,” was advised by Norman Bowie, has a position at the Wells Fargo Bank in Minneapolis.
Ronald Sundstrom, Ph.D. 1999, whose dissertation, “Rending the Veil: A Critical Look at the Ontology and Conservation of Race,” was co-advised by Michael Root and John Wright of Afro-American Studies and English, is an Assistant Professor in a tenure-track position at the University of San Francisco, where he also serves as the Co-Director of the African-American Studies Program.
Christian Trejbal, MA 2000, whose MA work was advised by Keith Gunderson and Norman Bowie has taken a position as an editorial writer for The Roanoke Times in Roanoke, Virginia.
William Vann, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation “The Good Friend: An Analysis of Plato's Lysis” was co-advised by Betty Belfiore and Sandra Peterson, is a tenured faculty member of Hennepin Technical College in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota.
Amanda Vizedom, Ph.D. 2000, whose dissertation, “Philosophical Knowledge as Social Knowledge: A Case Study in Social Epistemology,” was advised by Naomi Scheman, is an ontological engineer at Cycorp, Inc., an artificial intelligence company in Austin, Texas.
Heather Wainwright, Ph.D. 2006, whose dissertation, “New Paradigms in Aesthetics: The Challenge of Environmental Art,” was advised by Marcia Eaton, is a faculty member at Argosy University Twin Cities in Eagan, Minnesota. She also works as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls.
Charles Wallis, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Representation, Knowledge, and Structure in Computational Explanations in Cognitive Science,” was advised by Ronald Giere, is a tenured Associate Professor at California State University at Long Beach, where he serves as Director of the Center for Cognitive Science Graduate Advisor.
Nancy Walsh, Ph.D. 2004, whose dissertation, “A Business Ethics Approach to Hazard Communication and Employee Right to Know,” was advised by Norman Bowie, is a Senior Environmental, Health and Safety Manager and Six Sigma Black Belt at 3M.
Dona Warren, Ph.D. 1995, whose dissertation, “Explaining Ourselves: Simulation Theory, Externalism, and Causality,” was advised by Joseph Owens, has tenure in philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point.
Charles Weinstein, Ph.D. 2001, whose dissertation, “Information Systems Consulting and Ethics: An Aristotelian Approach,” was co-advised by Norman Bowie and Douglas Lewis, works for an information technology company in the Twin Cities.
Michael Winter, Ph.D. 1996, whose dissertation, “Can There Be an Aristotelian Science of Aristotle's Ethics?,” was co-advised by Norman Dahl and Sandra Peterson, is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Alana Yu, MA 2003, was advised by William Hanson. She is currently working as a consultant for ESS Healthcare Consulting.
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Although this information is complete and accurate to the best of our knowledge, we cannot guarantee that there are no errors or omissions. The department would appreciate knowing of any needed corrections. Send updates and changes to: Anita Wallace (walla027@umn.edu)
