Leiter Reports: A Philosophy Blog

Prinz from North Carolina to CUNY Grad Center

Jesse Prinz (philosophy of mind, cognitive science, moral psychology), one of the leading figures working at the intersection of philosophy and cognitive science, who is currently at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, has accepted appointment as Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, where he will start in January 2009.  With Prinz and David Rosenthal, among others, CUNY will be a major center for philosophy and cognitive science.

In addition, Jeffrey Blustein (bioethics) at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine has accepted a senior position at City College, and will also be appointed at the Graduate Center, where he will teach a seminar once every year or so.

It is probably worth pointing out, for the benefit of prospective students, that CUNY has in the last few years seen a dramatic improvement in its financial aid packages for PhD students, such that they are now highly competitive with the best private universities.  For a long time, relatively weak financial aid was an obstacle for many students in considering CUNY, but that has now changed.  With the recent success in faculty recruitment--besides Prinz, also Noel Carroll and Graham Priest just recently, as well as Alan Berger, Saul Kripke, Stephen Neale, and Catherine Wilson in the last few years--on top of longtime faculty strengths (in areas like logic, philosophy of language and mind, and applied ethics), CUNY is poised to be competitive at the top ranks of U.S. philosophy programs.  (The program will surely rank in the top 20 in the fall PGR surveys, and perhaps higher.)

Ludlow from Toronto to Northwestern

Peter Ludlow (philosophy of language), who just last year moved from Michigan to the University of Toronto, has now accepted a senior offer from Northwestern University.  Northwestern, which ranked 53rd in the fall 2006 PGR surveys, has, since that time, lost Tad Brennan to Cornell University and Habermas is no longer a regular visiting professor, but has also added, in addition to Ludlow, several tenured faculty, including Sanford Goldberg from Kentucky, Jennifer Lackey from Northern Illinois, and Charles Mills from Illinois/Chicago, as well as making junior appointments.  I would expect Northwestern to be squarely back in the top 50, probably the top 40, in the next round of PGR surveys.

(Query:  does this mean Urzinus Sklar is moving too?)

Memorial for Michael Frede

There is a memorial event in honour of Michael Frede, organised by and on behalf of his Oxford pupils, on Saturday 14 June at 2 p.m., in the Philosophy Faculty Building at 10 Merton Street, Oxford.

Hendrik Lorenz (Princeton) will give a lecture entitled 'Aristotle on the Unity of the Perceiving Subject', which will be followed by a full discussion and a reception.

If you wish to attend, it would be helpful if you could reply to Ben Morison or Tobias Reinhardt to let us know.

NB This event takes place on the same day as J L Ackrill's memorial service; the timing is such that people wishing to attend both events will be able to do so.

A Second Call to Sign the Petition in Support of the Graduate Program in Philosophy at the University of Florida

In just the first 24 hours, there have been more than 650 signatures to the petition calling on the University of Florida President to reconsider the decision to close the PhD program in philosophy at the University of Florida.  It would be wonderful if there were 650 more in the next 24 hours!  Please take a moment to sign (and include some identifying info as you do so, e.g., Prof of Philosophy at .... or undergraduate at....).  (I hope some of the journalists who cover higher education and read this blog will run a story about the effort to save the PhD program at Florida.  650 signatures in support of the Florida program in just one day is, I hope, newsworthy!)

Many signatories have posted excellent comments as well.  Here are a few samples. 

From John Protevi, Associate Professor of French Studies at Lousiana State University:

Philosophy is the oldest and most rigorous of all the humanities disciplines, stretching back to Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle. Philosophy has been taught in European universities since at least the 13th century in the schools at Paris and Oxford. It is today a lively and important discipline in its own right, and also as a pivot, linking many of the sciences. Because of its positive effects on the intellectual growth of students, it is increasingly popular as an undergraduate major. The University of Florida can only damage its reputation if it follows through on this shortsighted proposal.

From Stephen Darwall, John Dewey Distinguished University Professor of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (who is moving next year to Yale University):

Dear President Machen, Years ago (I like to think not so many), you and I worked on some projects together when you were Provost at Michigan. Since you left Michigan, you have devoted your life to the effort to make good universities great. Do you really think a university can be great without a good philosophy department? And do you think a philosophy department at a research university can be good without a Ph.D. program? Florida faces great exigency and must cut its budget. While you were at Michigan, the University also faced great exigency, as it has again recently. Was cutting the Philosophy Ph.D. program something you would have long contemplated as Provost of Michigan? I doubt it. I like to think that the proposed cut to Florida's Philosophy Ph.D. program has yet to come before your attention with sufficient vividness, since the document with the proposed cuts is large and complex. And I like to think that when it does you will see the wisdom of retaining the program.

From C. Kenneth Waters, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Minnesota at Twin Cities:

Great universities across the world have first rate philosophy departments, and that is no accident. I am sorry to see that the flagship public university of one of America's most prominent states does not recognize the value of philosophy.

From Daniel Garber, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department at Princeton University:

This is a short-sighted move, one that sets back the cause of liberal education in one of the country's important state universities.

From Otavio Bueno, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Miami:

UF has an excellent philosophy department. Keeping the department's Ph.D program will be an asset for the university -- and for the profession.

From David McNaughton, Professor of Philosophy at Florida State University:

Even though I am on the faculty at FSU, and thus likely to benefit from this extraordinary decision, as a Past President of the Florida Philosophical Association, and as someone who cares about the profession, I am appalled.

From Peter Carruthers, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department at the University of Maryland, College Park

The University of Florida cannot possibly aspire to be a serious research university without a PhD Program in Philosophy.

From Craig Duncan, Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Ithaca College:

Others have spoken of the importance of philosophy to the humanities. Let me emphasize its practical importance too. In today's dynamic economy, career changes are the norm. Given this fact, it is important that students be trained in highly portable skills such as critical thinking, lucid writing, and accurate reading. Philosophy is a first-rate opportunity to hone these skills. Harming the quality of your philosophy department harms your undergraduates' education.

From Janice Dowell, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln:

I have taught philosophy at state universities for over ten years. I have served as an undergraduate advisor for five of those years. I urge you to reconsider the termination of Florida's graduate program in philosphy. Good philosphy departments, such as Florida's, make a contribution to undergraduate education that far exceeds their size. Philosophy departments tend to be small and their faculty relatively low-paid. In short, good philosophy departements are relatively cheap. Yet philosophy majors consistently far out-perform just about any other major--in engineering, the sciences, or the humanities--on standardized tests for graduate programs, an excellent neutral measure of undergraduate learning. (Just check any source of information for the comparative scores of undergraduate majors on the GREs or LSATs. Year after year, philosophy majors dominate these lists.) The emphasis here, though, is GOOD philosophy departments. A university's ability to attract strong philosophers depends in part on the strength of their graduate program. Florida currently has a strong program and a strong department. It would be a real blow to undergraduate education at Florida to decimate the philosophy department by terminating its philosophy program. If this action is taken, I predict that the best faculty leave for better positions within a few years. It would be very difficult for a department to recover from this. And the reinstatement of the graduate program will be a necessary condition on recovery.

From Radu Bogdan, a philosophy professor at Tulane University and Bilkent University in Turkey:

Some time ago, I was considering applying for a job at UF, given the strength of the philosophy graduate program and its prestige. Philosophers make a great difference to a university, being the most interdisciplinary and connecting various fields. Both at Tulane and now visiting in Turkey, I set up and run cognitive science programs -- one of the most exciting developments in recent education -- and it is my experience that philosophers are the best link across disciplines in cognitive science. In eliminating the PhD at your university, you would weaken not only philosophy but also future developments in cognitive science, also various areas of applied ethics (business, ecology, medical, etc.) where philosophers are also essential. I hope you would reconsider.

From Alistair Norcross, Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder:

Eliminating the Ph.D program in Philosophy at the University of Florida would be a terrible move. If that happens, the "flag" would have to be transferred to FSU

From Barry Loewer, Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department at Rutgers University, New Brunswick:

It is a grave error for the University of Florida to close its PhD program in pilosophy. Over the years it has been an excellent program. A vibrant philosophy PhD program is needed for vibrant undergraduate programs in philosophy and the humanities and sciences in general. Closing the program will make the university much less appealing to undergraduates. It will lead to many of the faculty leaving. It will be embarrassing to Florida that its flagship university doesn't have a doctoral program in Philosophy and re-instituting the program will be enormously more expensive than maintaining the current program.

From Joel Anderson, Research Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands:

This strikes me as very poor judgment. Sometimes, sacrifices have to be made to make certain savings. But in this case, the savings are likely to be small, and the cost in loss of prestige and academic standing will be extremely high. For, what talented person is going to want to be hired or pursue an advanced degree at UF -- in any field of the humanities -- with this as the track record of the University? As a faculty member at one of the UF's international partner universities, I would add that this is the sort of move that will likely raise questions about whether to continue that partnership.

From Kevin Fink in Ohio:

This decision comes just weeks after I was admitted to the PhD program in philosophy. I am extremely disappointed. This is something I never would have expected from such a highly respected research institution. Further, I can hardly imagine that the cost to the reputation of the university is worth what little money can be saved by this cut.

From Elizabeth Palmer:

I completed an undergraduate degree in philosophy at the Univeristy of Florida and am now attending Indiana University's PhD program in philosophy. I cannot express how disgusted and disappointed I am with your decision to end the PhD program in philosophy at UF. The UF department is quite strong - they are ranked in the top 50 of all graduate philosophy programs. Although I understand the budget constraints Florida is facing, it is ludicrous to eliminate a program clearly performing so well. At this moment, I'm ashamed to be a UF alumna. I hope you reconsider your decision.

From Jennifer Arellano, an undergraduate majoring in philosophy at Florida:

As a philosophy undergrad at UF, I am outraged that [President] Bernie Machen would cut such a vital discipline from UF's PhD. curriculum. I have firsthand witnessed the proficiency of UF's philosophy department, the growing student interest, and the passion and drive of its philosophy students and professors. I came specifically to UF with one goal in mind - to earn my undergraduate degree in philosophy. If this department suffers any more setbacks due to Machen's insensitivity, inconsideration, and general insolence towards a first-class undergraduate education, I will hold him personally responsible for disrupting the quality of my education. The department is already small in size, and with some professors already leaving, how can we afford to lose any more faculty? At the expense of increasing student interest in the major? At the expense of the respectability of Florida's supposed flagship institution? I'm pretty sure Berkeley still offers PhD's in philosophy.

From Jason Braswell in Illinois:

As a former philosophy major at the University of Florida, I strongly disagree with the decision to cut the PhD program. Studying philosophy was one of the best decisions I've ever made, and it's sad that such an important subject is being marginalized.

From Charles Wolvertron in Virginia:

As someone who "discovered" philosophy late in life after a career in engineering, I think a claim of being relatively unbiased is justifiable. It is now my opinion that a course in philosophy should be a graduation requirement for every student. Eliminating a key part of your philosophy program is a step in the wrong direction and sends a message opposite to the one that needs sending.

From David Holt in Florida:

As a tax paying resident of Florida, who understands the skills in critical thinking that the study of philosophy provides, I urge you not to eliminate the Ph.D program at the University of Florida. I studied philosophy as an undergraduate and graduate student some 30 years ago and know the sound foundation it provided for earning a living in business.

From Alice Allen in Florida:

Dear Dr. Machen, From a fellow Vanderbilt alumnus... Please reconsider and keep the PhD program in Philosophy. I know several of their students and have known others over the years. These young scholars are EXCEPTIONAL. I know times are tight and understand your need to cut somewhere. But a top Liberal Arts university needs a Philosophy Ph.D. program. Respectfully submitted, Alice Allen B.A., Vanderbilt, 1965 M.A, M.S., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 1967, 1969 Mother of a 2006 Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Florida with double major in English and Philosophy.

Here, finally, is an article from a Gainesville paper about the initial response to the proposed cuts.

Show Your Support for the Philosophy PhD Program at Florida, and for the Importance of Philosophy in the Curriculum

A professor at Miami Dade College has created an on-line petition protesting the decision to eliminate the PhD program at the University of Florida.  I hope other philosophers will join me in signing.

UPDATE:  May I suggest that when signing you use the comments to indicate who you are:  e.g., "undergraduate philosophy student at University of Missouri," or "graduate student in philosophy at University of Notre Dame" or "Assistant Professor of Law at University of Kentucky," or "Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Florida," etc.  You should, of course, add whatever other comments you think relevant, as many signatories have already done (lots of good comments too!).

ANOTHER:  50 new signatures in the hour since this post went up.  Nice work, readers!  But there were over 500 'hits' on the blog in the last hour (of course not all of those were real visitors, some land here by accident).  Don't be shy, please!  Sign!!!  It is important for the profession to stand up for the centrality of the discipline to the mission of a major research university.

Budget Cuts Result in U of Florida Eliminating Its PhD Program

Details here.  Murat Aydede, David Copp, and Marina Oshana have recently jumped ship (Aydede to British Columbia, Copp & Oshana to UC Davis), but surely other talented faculty at UF are going to follow suit.  Three philosophy departments in Florida that have been on an upward trajectory--Florida State, Miami, and South Florida--are, I imagine, talking with colleagues in Gainesville!

There are certainly too many philosophy PhD programs in the U.S., but there are at least forty programs  nationally with less capable faculties than Florida's that might have been given the axe, were these decisions made on the comparative merits of programs nationwide.  Obviously decisions are not made on such a basis, and perhaps philosophy at Florida really was underperforming other Liberal Arts programs there, though I'm skeptical given the caliber of the philosophy faculty and other indicators of program excellence across the university.

UPDATE:  The Chronicle of Higher Ed notes that these are statewide cuts to higher education, so FSU and USF, as public schools, may also be affected (though each has evinced strong commitment to philosophy in recent years).  The Chronicle reports that the University of Florida president "said that the university’s goal of becoming one of the top 10 research institutions in the nation may be delayed by its budget woes and that he fears qualified faculty members may leave for greener pastures after going two years without a pay raise."  "Delayed" for this lifetime I'd imagine.  As a commenter at the Chronicle remarks:

The decision to eliminate the PhD in Philosophy is an indication that UF, the alleged “flagship” institution of higher education in the state, has little claim to respect within the academy. Excellence in Philosophy is central to the mission of higher education. The UF administration is shortsighted and intellectually impoverished.

Meanwhile, a Florida newspaper reports (I kid you not, scroll down) that one outcome of the recent Florida legislative session is that "bestiality is still legal" in the state.  (Thanks to the Florida Student Philosophy Blog for some of the links.)

ANOTHER:  Meanwhile, the undergraduate philosophy major at UF has been growing!

ONE MORE:  Roger Ariew, Chair of the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Florida, writes:

It is true that the Florida State budget calls for a 6% cut in funding for Universities. This comes on top of a 5.4% return in appropriations this year. Now 11.4% is a lot of money, but State appropriations are a small portion of a University budget, perhaps one third to one fourth of it. The net result is thus a reduction of 3-4% of a University's budget.

The State also allowed for a 6% tuition increase and a differential tuition increase for some universities (UF, FSU, and USF) for up to 15%. Such tuition increases should go a long way to balance the cuts in State appropriations.

Florida decided to freeze hiring and to layoff some faculty and staff. USF has frozen hiring, but allowed some exemptions to the freeze for "strategic" reasons; among the exemptions was a senior hire for Philosophy. Administrative decisions such as these reveal the different priorities of the respective university administrations.

I don't have all the figures, but Florida's canceling its Ph.D. in Philosophy will not result in great savings; it is a short-sighted and stupid move. Certainly it will result in a black mark for the "flagship" University in Florida. Top 10 status seems remote indeed.

Steup from St. Cloud to Purdue

Matthias Steup (epistemology) at St. Cloud State University has accepted a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at Purdue University, where he will also take over as Head of the Department.

Wall from Bowling Green to U Conn

Steven Wall (political philosophy), Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University, has accepted a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Connecticut, Storrs.

Memorial Service for J.L. Ackrill on June 14

A memorial service for J.L. Ackrill, Professor of the History of Philosophy in Oxford from 1966 to 1989, will take place in the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin, Oxford on June 14th 2008 at 11:30am; it will be followed by a reception at Brasenose College.

For more information, please contact the Chaplain at Brasenose, Graeme Richardson.

Shapiro from Michigan to Yale Law School

Details here.

Tenure-Track Hiring by Philosophy Departments, 2007-2008, Part II

MOVING TO FRONT (for the last time this season) from April 7

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The initial thread (started February 8) on new junior hires and post-docs grew too long, so I am starting a new thread for additional postings.  Here, again, are the instructions:

===========================

It's that time of year again...I am opening comments on this thread for people to post news about junior, tenure-track hires in philosophy departments, i.e., hires made during this year of new assistant professors who will be starting in fall 2008 (or thereafter).  (For schools outside the US, please list new Lecturers who are on presumptively permanent appointments--not temporary lecturers.)  Like last year, you may also post information about post-doc appointments, since there are an increasing number of those in philosophy, many quite attractive.  No anonymous posts will be allowed. The candidates themselves, dissertation advisors, placement directors, department chairs, or faculty members involved with the hiring or the placement of the candidate may all post information.  No hearsay, however:  you must have first-hand knowledge of the placement.  (Please e-mail me about any errors.)

The format of the postings should be as follows:  candidate's name (name of PhD-granting school) hired by [name of school].  AOS: ________; any prior positions (e.g., a postdoc, a lectureship, a visiting asst prof position).  In the case of a post-doc, it should say not 'hired by' but 'post-doc at' [name of school].

Here's an example (fictional):

John Smith (Chicago) hired by Kenyon College.   AOS:  19th-Century Philosophy.  Previously Visiting Assistant Professor at Marquette University.

Remember:  tenure-track jobs and postdocs only.  I'll move this thread to the front at various intervals until it looks like the hiring season has wound down.  Please post only once; postings should appear within 24 hours

Arizona's Paul Pursued by UNC As Well

The Department of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has voted out an offer to L.A. Paul (metaphysics) at the University of Arizona, who is also being recruited by Notre Dame.

USC Makes Bid for Salmon at UC Santa Barbara

Nathan Salmon (philosophy of language, metaphysics) at the University of California at Santa Barbara has a senior offer from the University of Southern California, where he will visit next fall.  Salmon--who has in the past turned down offers from Michigan and Yale, among other places--would help restore USC's position as one of the top two or three departments for philosophy of language in the U.S.   

Watson to Retire at UC Riverside, and Move Full-Time to USC

Gary Watson (ethics, philosophy of action) at the University of California at Riverside will take emeritus status there and take up a full-time post in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Southern California, where, with Kadri Vihvelin, George Wilson and Gideon Yaffe, he will help give USC one of the strongest philosophy of action cohorts in the U.S.  Even with Watson's retirement, UCR's other strong appointments this year still make a strong top 30 (perhaps top 25) showing in next fall's reputational surveys extremely likely.  (With John Martin Fischer remaining, UCR will, of course, remain a top choice for those interested in philosophy of action as well.)

Four Senior Hires for UC Davis: Antonelli, Copp, Landry, & Oshana

The Department of Philosophy at the University of California at Davis, which has had significant turnover lately, has now made four senior hires.  Starting this fall:  Aldo Antonelli (logic) from the University of California at Irvine, and Elaine Landry (philosophy of mathematics and science) from the University of Calgary; and starting in fall 2009:  David Copp (ethics) and Marina Oshana (ethics, philosophy of action), both currently at the University of Florida, Gainesville.  Since the time of the fall 2006 surveys (when Davis ranked 35th overall), Davis lost Jonathan Vogel (epistemology) back to Amherst, and Paul Teller (philosophy of physics) retired.   This major set of  new hires will clearly keep Davis safely in the top 40, perhaps propel it back to the top 30.

UCSD Votes Out Offer to Wash U's Doris

The Department of Philosophy at the University of California, San Diego has voted out a senior offer to John Doris, who has been a leader in developing work at the intersection of moral philosophy and empirical psychology, at Washington University in St. Louis.

Priest from Melbourne to CUNY--Corrected Version

MOVING TO FRONT FROM APRIL 11:  Unfortunately, there was some miscommunication with CUNY regarding this appointment.  Professor Priest writes with the following clarification:  "I have accepted a full time position at CUNY, starting in September 2009.  However, I will not be moving there full time immediately.  For the years 2009-10 and 2010-11 I will work half the year at CUNY and half the year at Melbourne. Both institutions have agreed to the appropriate leave to make this possible.  I intend to maintain my position at St Andrews, but the appropriate arrangements for these two years still need to be negotiated."

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Graham Priest (logic, philosophical logic) at the University of Melbourne has accepted appointment as Distinguished Professor of Philosophy at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, to start in September 2009.  He will continue to be quarter-time at the Arche Center at the University of St. Andrews, but will be teaching both terms each year at CUNY.

UPDATE:  Philosopher Matt Burstein writes:  "Did CUNY both give him and not give him a contract?"

In Memoriam: A.D. Woozley (1912-2008)

The well-known legal and political philosopher Anthony D. Woozley was an emeritus University Professor at the University of Virginia, and also during his long career held the Chair in Moral Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews and taught legal philosophy at Oxford University.  He and Tony Honore taught the first law and philosophy class at Oxford in 1951!  The syllabus for that course is here.

A short memorial notice from a local paper is here.  I will add links to other memorial notices as they appear.

UPDATE:  The distinguished philosopher Cora Diamond, who is also the widow of Professor Woozley, writes with the following interesting bit of information (that I certainly did not know, and perhaps it will be news to others):

Woozley was the last surviving member of the original group of seven philosophers whose informal discussions from 1937-39 were the beginnings of Oxford ordinary language philosophy.  There is an account of these original meetings in Isaiah Berlin's *Personal Impressions*, the chapter on J.L. Austin.  Austin and Berlin organized the group; besides
Austin, Woozley and Berlin, the members were A.J. Ayer, Stuart Hampshire, Donald Macnabb and Donald MacKinnon.

Dorr, Moss from Pittsburgh to Oxford

Cian Dorr (metaphysics, philosophy of language), Associate Professor of Philosophy, and Jessica Moss (ancient philosophy), Assistant Professor of Philosophy, both at the University of Pittsburgh, have turned down the offers from Rutgers and accepted appointments at Oxford University, he with the title Senior Faculty Lecturer and she as Fellow of Balliol College.

Clark from Colgate to UC Riverside

Maudemarie Clark, the leading senior scholar in the field of Nietzsche studies, who is presently Carleton Professor of Philosophy at Colgate University, has accepted the senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of California at Riverside.  With five distinguished tenured faculty working in and around Kant and post-Kantian Continental philosophy (besides Clark, they are Pierre Keller, Andrews Reath, Georgia Warnke, and Mark Wrathall), Riverside probably now ranks with Chicago as one of the top two choices for students interested in Continental philosophy in the U.S.  The addition of Clark, on top of hires of Agnieszka Jaworska and John Perry, will probably also push UC Riverside into the overall top 25 in the U.S., if not higher.  (This is on the assumption that they successfully retain one senior member of the Department being pursued by Southern California.)

Cassam from Cambridge to Warwick

Quassim Cassam (metaphysics, epistemology, Kant, philosophy of mind), who not long ago took up the Knightbridge Professorship at Cambridge, has now accepted a Professorship at the University of Warwick, effective January 1, 2009.

Warwick has been on an aggressive hiring spree over the last several years, adding, among others, Bill Brewer from Oxford, A.D. Smith from Sussex, and Andrew Williams from Reading.  With continued excellence in Continental philosophy (Stephen Houlgate, Peter Poellner, and others--and now supplemented by Smith, who works on Husserl in addition to philosophy of mind), the new addition of Cassam on top of these other strong appointments will surely push Warwick into the top ranks of PhD programs in the UK.

The Cambridge Department, meanwhile, is facing some difficulties, with Simon Blackburn and Raymond Geuss approaching the mandatory retirement age in the next few years (and Blackburn also spending part of his time back at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill), and now Cassam departing after such a short tenure.

Wingo from U Mass/Boston to Colorado

Ajume Wingo (social & political philosophy, African philosophy, aesthetics), currently at the University of Massachussetts at Boston, has accepted a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, to begin this fall.

Another Tenured Hire for UC Riverside: Jaworska

Agnieszka Jaworska (ethics), currently Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Stanford University, has accepted a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Riverside.

Perry to Retire at Stanford, Move Half-Time to UC Riverside

The distinguished philosopher John Perry--one of the leading contributors to philosophy of language and mind over the past thirty-five years--will retire from Stanford University effective September 1, 2008 (he turns 65 this year), and take up a half-time position in the Department of Philosophy at the University of California at Riverside, where he will teach two graduate seminars each year.  That's a major coup for Riverside, since Perry has also been, throughout his career, an important mentor for young philosophers. 

Perry will also be "called back" at Stanford, and so will continue teaching half-time there, although he will be officially emeritus.

Faculty Changes in the Last Year and the Overall Rankings

MOVING TO FRONT FROM NOVEMBER 12, 2007:  Since decision time is coming for those prospective grad students fortunate to have multiple offers, I thought I'd move this to the front.  (Students ought to scroll through the "Philosophy Updates" index as well to see what moves that might be relevant have transpired in the interim.)  I would urge students *not* to obsess about small differences in the overall ranking of a department; that one department came out at 6 and another at 10 (or one at 20 and another at 26) is far less important than how well the program meets your needs, as well as all the 'intangible' but important factors, like faculty-student relations, quality of life given the financial aid available, the atmosphere for women in the department, and so on.  I'll post more about those issues in the next day or two.

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The summary of faculty changes since the fall 2006 survey has led various students to inquire about how these changes would affect the overall rankings.  I'll just comment on the US, since I think I have a better sense of that scene.  The first thing to say is that, in almost all cases, far more important than any change in "overall rank" is the way in which senior moves will affect the attractiveness of programs in various specialty areas--so with the senior moves and the tenurings, especially, take note of the areas those faculty work in.   (Attend to the junior hirings, too, but as a PhD student, you will want to have a tenured faculty member as a supervisor of your thesis.)

Turning to the overall results, I would expect a new survey, reflecting last year's changes, to have NYU still on top (perhaps by a wider margin), then Rutgers, and then a gap before the Princeton/Pittsburgh/Michigan grouping (with Michigan probably now at the lower end of that cluster).  That would be followed by a cluster of Stanford, Harvard, MIT, UCLA, North Carolina, and Columbia.  The next cluster (programs ranked 12-15) would be Arizona, Berkeley, Notre Dame, and (a new arrival) Yale--and Yale could well be on the cusp of the next group.  The "top 20" would be rounded out (in some order) by Brown, Texas, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Cornell, Chicago, Southern California, and, maybe, CUNY.  Outside the top 20, the biggest upward movement has surely been by Colorado (which ought to be solidly back in the top 30, I should think) and Northwestern (which ought to be solidly back in the top 50, perhaps higher), while UC Davis is at risk of dropping out of the top 40.

Tenure-Track Hiring by Philosophy Departments, 2007-2008

MOVING TO FRONT (originally posted February 8)

It's that time of year again...I am opening comments on this thread for people to post news about junior, tenure-track hires in philosophy departments, i.e., hires made during this year of new assistant professors who will be starting in fall 2008 (or thereafter).  (For schools outside the US, please list new Lecturers who are on presumptively permanent appointments--not temporary lecturers.)  Like last year, you may also post information about post-doc appointments, since there are an increasing number of those in philosophy, many quite attractive.  No anonymous posts will be allowed. The candidates themselves, dissertation advisors, placement directors, department chairs, or faculty members involved with the hiring or the placement of the candidate may all post information.  No hearsay, however:  you must have first-hand knowledge of the placement.  (Please e-mail me about any errors.)

The format of the postings should be as follows:  candidate's name (name of PhD-granting school) hired by [name of school].  AOS: ________; any prior positions (e.g., a postdoc, a lectureship, a visiting asst prof position).  In the case of a post-doc, it should say not 'hired by' but 'post-doc at' [name of school].

Here's an example (fictional):

John Smith (Chicago) hired by Kenyon College.   AOS:  19th-Century Philosophy.  Previously Visiting Assistant Professor at Marquette University.

Remember:  tenure-track jobs and postdocs only.  I'll move this thread to the front at various intervals until it looks like the hiring season has wound down.  Please post only once; postings should appear within 24 hours

Penn State Philosophy Recoups by Plundering Memphis

Details here.

Senior Offers that Prospective Students Should Inquire About with the Relevant Departments

MOVING TO FRONT FROM MARCH 4, WITH SOME CHANGES

There are a number of senior (i.e., tenured) offers I've heard about from generally reliable sources, but which I haven't gotten clearance from the candidate or hiring department to announce yet.  But since prospective grad students are starting to hear about admissions offer and will be making decisions over the next six weeks, I thought I should provide a "heads up."  Students admitted to these departments should inquire with the departments for more details.  (The list below does not include offers previously announced.)

One faculty member at Michigan has a senior offer from Texas.

One faculty member at Penn has a senior offer from Johns Hopkins.

One faculty member at UC Riverside is likely to get a senior offer from U of Southern California.

One faculty member at UC Davis has a senior offer from Cornell.

I suspect there are other offers outstanding as well, so all prospective students are advised to inquire with the departments to which they have been admitted about any faculty who might be leaving or any faculty who might be joining in the near future.

And, remember, according to APA guidelines, you have until April 15 to decide about financial aid offers!

In Memoriam: Hazel Barnes (1915-2008)

Professor Barnes, a longtime professor of philosophy at the University of Colorado at Boulder, played a major role in introducing French existentialism to the Anglophone world, through her translations and scholarship.  There is more information, and links to obituaries, here.

Driver & Sorensen from Dartmouth to Wash U/St. Louis

Julia Driver (ethics) and Roy Sorensen (epistemology, metaphysics, philosophical logic, philosophy of language) at Dartmouth College have accepted senior offers from the Department of Philosophy at Washington University, St. Louis.  The Wash U department has been on a steady upward trajectory with good senior and junior hiring over the last half-dozen years; these latest appointments will probably propel it solidly into the U.S. top thirty, perhaps higher.

Oxford's Hawthorne to Take Up Part-Time Position at Princeton

John Hawthorne, Waynflete Professor of Metaphysical Philosophy at Oxford, who is well-known for many contributions to metaphysics, epistemology, philosophy of language, and the history of early modern philosophy, has concluded his half-time appointment at Rutgers, and will now move to a roughly quarter-time U.S. appointment at Princeton.  Daniel Garber, Chair of the Department at Princeton, writes:

I am very pleased to announce that John Hawthorne (University of Oxford) has accepted an offer to be a regular visitor in the Department of Philosophy at Princeton University for the next five years. Beginning in spring 2009, he will come for six weeks in the spring, and teach a course and a half, as well as work with graduate students.

UPDATE:  Just to be clear:  Hawthorne will be full-time at Oxford; the Oxford academic calendar, as many readers will know, has long breaks (about six weeks) between terms, and it is during one of these breaks that Professor Hawthorne will be in the US and working at Princeton. 

Updates to the Memorial Notices for Mothersill and Rosenberg

I have added links to memorial notices and events to the earlier postings about the passing of Professors Mothersill and Rosenberg for those readers who might be interested.

Belot and Ruetsche from Pittsburgh to Michigan

Gordon Belot and Laura Ruetsche, both Associate Professors of Philosophy working in philosophy of physics at the University of Pittsburgh, have accepted tenured offers from the Department of Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.  In addition to the junior appointment of David Baker, this will give Michigan a very strong presence in philosophy of physics, even when Lawrence Sklar, Michigan's longtime distinguished philosopher of science, retires.

Carroll from Temple to CUNY Grad Center

Noel Carroll (aesthetics) at Temple University has accepted one of the Distinguished Professorships in Philosophy at the City University of New York Graduate Center.

Notre Dame Makes Bid for Arizona's Paul

The Department of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame has voted out a tenured offer to Laurie (L.A.) Paul at the University of Arizona, who is one of the leading philosophers of her generation working in metaphysics.

Berkeley Makes Offer to Reginster at Brown

Bernard Reginster (Continental philosophy) at Brown University has a tenured offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley.

Jesseph from NC State to South Florida

Douglas Jesseph (early modern philosophy, history and philosophy of mathematics) at North Carolina State University has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at the University of South Florida, where he will join another leading scholar in the history of early modern philosophy, Roger Ariew.  South Florida has developed a strong group in the history of philosophy, especially from the medieval period through post-Kantian Continental.

In Memoriam: Jay Rosenberg (1942-2008)

Jay Rosenberg, a mainstay of the Department of Philosophy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for some forty years, passed away yesterday.  He was, of course, well-known for his many contributions to philosophy of language, metaphysics, and epistemology.  I will add a link to a memorial notice as soon as one is available.

UPDATE:  An obituary from a local paper is here.

ANOTHER UPDATE:  Professor Rosenberg's daughter sends the following information about a memorial service:   "A memorial service will be held 1:00 p.m. Saturday, March 15, 2008 at Extraordinary Ventures, 200 South Elliott Road, Chapel Hill 27514 www.extraordinaryventures.org. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Jay Rosenberg Cookbook Scholarship, Reed College, 3203 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97202. The cookbook can also be ordered online at www.bookstore.reed.edu

ONE MORE:      Memories from former students here.

Graham from Wake Forest to Georgia State

George Graham, a leading contributor to work at the intersection of philosophy and psychology, who currently holds an endowed chair in the Philosophy Department at Wake Forest University, has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at Georgia State University, where he will work with Eddy Nahmias, a leading young experimental philosopher, and others in developing the Brains and Behavior Program.  That's a major appointment for GSU, and will solidfy its position among the very top terminal MA programs in the country.  (The GSU news release is here.)

Buffalo Makes Bid for Braun at Rochester

David Braun (philosophy of language, philosophy of mind) at the University of Rochester has been offered the new Romanell Chair in Philosophy at the State University of New York at Buffalo.  (Patrick and Edna J. Romanell have funded a number of initiatives in philosophy at the national level, including the well-known Romanell Lecture of the APA.) 

Yale Law School Makes Bid for Legal Philosopher Shapiro at Michigan

More details here.

Chicago's Nussbaum Declines Harvard, Brown Offers, Will Remain at Chicago

Martha Nussbaum (ancient philosophy, political philosophy, ethics), who holds appointments in the Law School, Philosophy Department, and the Divinity School at the University of Chicago, has declined the senior offers from Harvard University and Brown University.  That's the second significant retention coup for Chicago recently, one about which I am, needless to say, especially pleased.

Wilcox from Temple to San Francisco State

Shelley Wilcox (ethics, political philosophy, feminist philosophy), assistant professor of philosophy at Temple University, has accepted a tenured appointment as Associate Professor of Philosophy at San Francisco State University.

Väyrynen from UC Davis to Leeds

Pekka Väyrynen (ethics), assistant professor of philosophy at the University of California at Davis, has accepted the position of Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at the University of Leeds (turning down, in the process, a tenured counter-offer from Davis).  Leeds has also made three other more junior appointments in areas like philosophy of language and philosophy of science; interested students should consult the Leeds department for details.

In Memoriam: Mary Mothersill (1923-2008)

Professor Mothersill died earlier this week, though I have not yet been able to locate any on-line information or memorial notices.  She was Professor Emerita at Barnard College, and was, of course, well-known for her many contributions to aesthetics.  I hope to post more information soon.

UPDATE:  A very lovely memorial notice by a former student at the American Society of Aesthetics website.  (Jackie Taylor, a philosopher at the University of San Francisco, writes that the author of this memorial, Linda Nochlin, is "the Lila Acheson Wallace Professor of Modern Art at NYU's Institute of Fine Arts" and also "the author of the classic essay, 'Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?'"  My thanks to Professor Taylor for that additional information.)

ANOTHER:  A memorial notice from the Hume Society.

Calhoun from Colby to Arizona State

Cheshire Calhoun (ethics, philosophy of the emotions, feminist philosophy, philosophical issues related to sexuality), previously at Colby College, has accepted a senior offer from the Department of Philosophy at Arizona State University, effective January 2008.

Duke Makes Offers to Norman, Sreenivasan

MOVING TO FRONT FROM NOVEMBER 13, 2007:  SEE UPDATE

Duke University has voted out senior offers of endowed Chairs to Wayne Norman (political philosophy, business ethics), who currently holds a Research Chair in Business Ethics at the University of Montreal, and to Gopal Sreenivasan (ethics, political philosophy), who is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Toronto where he holds a Tier II Canada Research Chair.  Norman's appointment would be joint with the Philosophy Department and the Kenan Institute for Ethics; Sreenivasan's appointment would be joint with Philosophy and the Medical School. 

UPDATE:  Professor Norman has now accepted the Duke offer.

Stanford's Bobonich Declines Rutgers Offer

Christopher Bobonich (ancient philosophy) at Stanford University has declined the senior offer from Rutgers University, New Brunswick (which last year appointed Bobonich's teacher, Alan Code, from Berkeley).

In Memoriam: Peter Hare (1935-2008)

I have received the following information from one of Professor Hare's former students:

Peter Hare died in the early morning hours on January 3, 2008. At the time of his death he was SUNY Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at SUNY at Buffalo, where he had taught from 1962 to 2001. Peter was a long-time Editor of the Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society. He also served as  President of several philosophical organizations, including the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy, which gave him its highest honor, the Herbert W. Schneider Award. A memorial session devoted to Peter's contributions to the study of American philosophy will be held at the March SAAP meeting at Michigan State University. 

There is a "bit outdated" CV here.

UPDATE:  A personal remembrace from Professor Hare's colleague Randall Dipert.

In Memoriam: Emmanuel Eze (1963-2007)

Professor Eze, a well-known specialist in African philosophy, was Associate Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University.  A brief obituary is here.