MOVING TO FRON FROM SEPTEMBER 5
This is a summary of changes at the tenured ranks at the top 50 PhD programs in the 2017 Philosophical Gourmet Report; more precisely, these are changes that were not reflected in the faculty lists evaluators saw for the 2017 PGR surveys (some moves that weren't official until 2018 were reflected in the faculty lists).
Rutgers University, New Brunswick (#2 in 2017 PGR): hired Karen Bennett (metaphysics) from Cornell and Brian Leftow (philosophy of religion, medieval philosophy) from Oxford University. Rutgers was already tops in metaphysics, and will now be close to tops in philosophy of religion as well. Because these appointments play to strengths, they will not do much to close the gap with #1 NYU, which is still broader in its coverage of philosophy, especially history of philosophy, including the post-Kantian Continental traditions.
Princeton University (#3 in 2017 PGR): hired Andrew Chignell (Kant, philosophy of religion) (primary appointments in Religion and Center for Human Values) from the University of Pennsylvania; will definitely boost Princeton's specialty ranking in Kant and maybe also philosophy of religion.
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (#4 in 2017 PGR): lost Maria Lasonen-Aarnio (epistemology) to Helsinki.
University of Pittsburgh (#4 in 2017 PGR): hired Ann Cudd (political philosophy, philosophy of economics, decision theory) as Provost from Boston University; and Nandi Theunissen (ethics, metaethics) from Johns Hopkins University. Pitt lost Michael Caie (philosophical logic, philosophy of language, formal epistemology) and (untenured) Jessica Gelber (ancient Greek and Roman philosophy) to the University of Toronto.
Yale University (#6 in 2017 PGR): hired L.A. (Laurie) Paul (metaphysics, philosophy of cognitive science, formal epistemology) from North Carolina; Yale may crack the "top 5" overall again.
Columbia University (#9 in 2017 PGR): hired Jenann Ismael (philosophy of science and physics, metaphysics, philosophy of mind) from the University of Arizona; likely to push Columbia into a tie with MIT and USC at #7.
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (#14 in 2017 PGR): lost L.A. (Laurie) Paul (metaphysics, philosophy of cognitive science, formal epistemology) to Yale; Thomas E. Hill, Jr. (ethics, Kant), who had been on phased retirement, has now officially reteired. Hired Sarah Stroud (ethics) from McGill University, who will also direct the Parr Center for Ethics. UNC is likely to slip a bit in the overall rankings, though will surely remain in the top 20.
University of Arizona (#16 in 2017 PGR): lost Jenann Ismael (above) to Columbia, a big loss, though Arizona will surely remain in the top 20.
University of Texas, Austin (#18 in 2017 PGR): part-time faculty member Larry Laudan--an eminent philosopher of science who over the last 15 years has emerged as a penetrating writer on the epistemology of the rules of evidence and criminal procedure--has resigned from his position in both philosophy and law.
Cornell University (#25 in 2017 PGR): lost Karen Bennett (metaphysics) to Rutgers; will probably slip out of top 25 overall.
University of Pennsylvania (#27 in 2017 PGR): lost Andrew Chignell to Princeton, which will affect its Kant rating, though Gary Hatfield, another major Kant scholar, is still available as a supervisor there; tenured (and retained against outside offers) both Errol Lord (ethics, epistemology) and Quayshawn Spencer (philosophy of biology, philosophy of race), both of whose stars are rising.
Indiana University, Bloomington (#28 in 2017 PGR): Timothy O'Connor (metaphysics, philosophy of action, philosophy of religion) returned after a year at Baylor University; Mark Kaplan (epistemology) and Joan Weiner (history of analytic) both retired at the end of 2017-18.
Syracuse University (#35 in 2017 PGR): hired Luvell Anderson (philosophy of race, philosophy of language, aesthetics) from the University of Memphis, which will probably get Syracuse ranked for philosophy of race in the next PGR.
University of Miami (#35 in 2017 PGR ): hired Anjan Chakravartty (philosophy of science) from the University of Notre Dame, as well as advanced junior laterals Helen Yetter Chappell and Richard Yetter Chappell from the University of York; this should push Miami back to the cusp of the top 30.
University of California, Davis (#42 in 2017 PGR): Senior faculty David Copp (ethics and metaethics) and Marina Oshana (ethics) both took emeritus status. The department will surely remain in the top 50 nonetheless.
Florida State University (#44 in 2017 PGR): hired Edward Hinchman (epistemology, moral psychology, philosophy of mind and action) and Andrea Westlund (feminist philosophy, ethics, moral psychology) from the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee; this may push FSU to the cusp of the top 40.
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