Director of the Center of Ethics and Leadership (2007-2020) and Associate Professor of Philosophy.
He taught philosophy at a large state university, a community college and a small liberal arts college before joining the faculty of the Department of Philosophy at St. Edward's University in 2007. As Director of the Center of Ethics and Leadership he provided assistance for initiating new programs in ethics and provides support for continuing the development of faculty, staff, and student understanding and commitment to these goals in their work at St. Edward's and in their lives.
"Philosophy improves critical thinking, clarifies personal values, improves democratic decision-making and leads to interesting professional jobs--and is also just a whole lot of fun!"
Ph.D. in Philosophy, Indiana University (2000)
M.A. in Philosophy, University of Michigan (1989)
B.A. in Philosophy, University of Virginia (1987)
Honors and Awards
St. Edward's University Distinguished Teaching Award, 2018 (one of two to full-time faculty)
Presidential Excellence Grant for research in summers 2016 and 2018 on ethics in arts administration
Sabbatical, fall 2017
Innovation Fellowship for summer 2016 to incorporate instructional technology into the classroom
Partner of Residence Life Award at St. Edward's University, 2010-2011 for ethics presentations to students
Blue & Gold Committee’s Spiritedness Award 2011 for CEL/Campus Ministry for Passion & Civility debates, shared with Jim Puglisi and Kate Rosati
Community Contribution Award 2009 National Institute for Technology in Education (NITLE), for “Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in Second Life," shared with Jason Rosenblum
Community Service
Kealing Middle School volunteer writing tutor in 2016, career path day 2015 and 2018, ethics presentations to AVID students in April 2018
University of Texas Elementary School, Principal’s Education Council 2010-2014
Town and gown deliberative and democratic dialogues (based on Kettering Foundation research and model) on how higher education can solve social problems (spring 2012), how we can help children thrive from birth to Kindergarten (spring 2013), how we can prevent mass shootings (spring 2014), how should we spread prosperity and improve opportunity (spring 2016), and how should we meet the challenges of a warming planet (fall 2016).
Catholic Charities food pantry, biweekly fall 2010-spring 2011, distribute food to community members in need
Organizations, Boards and Memberships
Consulting Editor, College Teaching, 2006-present
American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT) Nominating/Elections Committee (2008), Finance Committee (2011-2020), host of its biannual conference at St. Edward's University in July 2012. In the spring of 2013 and 2014 I reviewed proposals for the APA meeting hosted by the AAPT. Starting January 2021, I served a two-year term as a Board Member at Large. Starting in the summer of 2023, I'll be on the Advancement Committee.
Conferences
Research
My current research ranges from how deliberative dialogues might improve democratic practice to the ethical principles informing arts administration.
Active Grants
Parrhesia Summer Academy Program on Freedom of Expression, Academic Inquiry and Campus Discourse (June 2023), funded by an grant awarded to Parrhesia, application supported by Marianne Ward-Peradoza (Provost), Sharon Nell (Dean), Mark Cherry (Chair and Professor)
Council of Independent Colleges New Currents in Teaching Philosophy (July 2023), funded activities supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities, application supported by Marianne Ward-Peradoza (Provost), Sharon Nell (Dean), Mark Cherry (Chair and Professor)
Previously Awarded Grants
Council of Independent Colleges Deliberation & Debate: Advancing Civil Discourse through First-Year Courses (July 2021)
Council of Independent Colleges Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction II (2016-2018), funded activities supported by the CIC and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Team Members Mary Boyd (Vice President for Academic Affairs), Georgia Seminet (Associate Professor of Spanish), Lance Hayes (Registrar)
Publications
"The Philosopher and the Game Producer: Am I a Bad Person if I Enjoy Doing Bad Things (in a Video Game ?)", with Robert Denton Bryant (co-author), in Well Played, Volume 11, Number 1, A Journal on Video Games, Values, and Meaning: A Special Issue on Ethics, José P. Zagal, editor, Carnegie Mellon University: ETC Press, 2022, pages 107-122.
“Deliberative Dialogue Guides on International Corruption: A US/Russian Cultural Exchange ” with Ekaterina Lukyanova (co-author), Michigan State University’s Transformation in Higher Education Series (July 2017), volume Deliberative Pedagogy and Democratic Engagement, editors Timothy J. Shaffer, Nicholas V. Longo, Idit Manosevtich and Maxine S. Thomas, pages 99-106.
Cory Lock, Chad Long, Susan Loughran, and Michael Saclolo (co-authors), “Design and Implementation: Transparency and Problem-Based Learning at St. Edward’s University.” Peer Review: Transparency and Problem-Centered Learning. Association of American Colleges and Universities. 18.1/2 (Winter 2016).
“Plato’s Allegory of the Cave in Second Life,” Academic Commons 2010 on-line in Advancing Toward Liberal Arts 3.0, with Jason Rosenblum (co-author) and winner of a NITLE 2009 Community Contribution Award.
“Smoking Pot Doesn’t Hurt Anyone but Me!” Why Adults Should be Allowed to Consume Cannabis,” with R. Frohardt and D. G. Lynch (co-authors), in Cannabis-Philosophy for Everyone: What Were We Just Talking About?, editor Dale Jacquette (Wiley Blackwell 2010).
“Natural Law for Teaching Ethics: An Essential Tool and not a Seamless Web,” in The Normativity of the Natural: Human Goods, Human Virtues, and Human Flourishing ed. Mark Cherry (Springer 2009).
Excitable Speech: A Politics of the Performative (book review with Julie M. Thompson, co-author), Symploke: A Journal for the Intermingling of Cultural, Literary, and Theoretical Scholarship, Fall 1999
Introduction to Philosophy: A Learning Guide (2nd edition), with Jeffrey DiLeo (co-author), Indiana University Independent Study Program, Bloomington, Indiana, 1999
Elementary Ethics: A Learning Guide (2nd edition), with Jeffrey DiLeo, Indiana University Independent Study Program, Bloomington, Indiana, 1998
“Teaching Philosophy of Law” (book reviews), Teaching Philosophy, Volume 20, Number 3, September 1997
Presentations
'Is humor moral in the college classroom?" at the Lighthearted Philosophers Society annual conference, November 2019
St. Edward's University Medallion Ceremony, welcoming remarks, August 2019
Talking it Out: A Comparison of the Effects of Deliberative Dialogue and Cable News on Political Efficacy and Trust in Government (with Chad Long), Western Political Science Association, 2015
Multinational Research Exchange: Civic Education: Experiments in Higher Education, Kettering Foundation, fall 2014 and spring 2015
Building Capacity from the Ground Up: A Grassroots Approach to Enhancing Faculty Diversity (with Rachael Neal, James Puglisi, Michelle Robertson), panel presentation at Boston College Institute for the Study and Promotion of Race and Culture, 2014
Copyright Law and Union Wages: Cases Studies in Ethics in Arts Administration (with Michelle Polgar and William McMillan), Association of Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE), 2013
Smashing Silos: Integration and Internationalization of a University Campus (with Russ Frohardt and David Blair), World Congress of Universities (Vancouver), 2013
Plato’s Cave in Second Life (with Jason Rosenblum), American Association of Philosophy Teachers (AAPT), 2012
The Passion & Civility Debate Tournament: Fostering Ethical Dialogue Outside of the Classroom (with James Puglisi and Kate Rosati), APPE 2011
Ethics Across the Curriculum: Success or Failure? APPE 2010
Ambulance Chasers or Hired Guns: Teaching Legal Ethics with Hollywood Film, AAPT 2010
Children as Sexual Abuse Victims and Perpetrators: Assessing the Ethics Obligations of Social Workers in Hard Cases when Values Conflict (with Stacey Borasky), APPE 2009
Facing Facebook Fears: Social Agency, Free Speech & Democracy on Today’s College Campus, RPA 2008
Ethics in 90 Minutes: What does an Ethics Consultant Really Do? AAPT 2008
Class Preparation
PHIL 2316 History of Philosophy I (Ancient), PHIL 2329 Ethics, PHIL 3301 Legal Ethics, PHIL 3310 Special Topics: Philosophy of Law, PHIL 3312 Environmental Ethics, Honors 2360 Art and Ethics (with Dr. Mary Brantl): Van Gogh's Ear, Blended Goldfish, Burning the Flag and Beyond