Dr. Wilkins (reachable at wilkins-at-fordham-dot-edu) kindly gave permission to share the following; I hope one or more current APA members will also nominate him (today!), since those are apparently more effective than self-nominations:
I just nominated myself to serve on two APA committees: the Non-Academic Careers Committee and the Public Philosophy Committee. I would welcome your endorsement of my candidacy for either position when the election rolls around. What I would like to do is briefly introduce myself and my qualifications for these positions.
- PhD Philosophy 2018 from Fordham University. AOS Medieval Philosophy, Metaphysics. I’ve published papers in Synthese, the Journal of the APA, History of Philosophy Quarterly, and other reasonable, peer-reviewed venues. I have presented multiple papers on the main program of the APA.
- I continue to be an active researcher and publisher.
- I have held a number of paid positions as a philosopher: graduate teaching fellow, adjunct, postdoc. Pretty much everything except a tenure-track professor. I did a lot of that published research while teaching a 4/4 to make enough money to support my family while living in the Bronx.
- In June 2017, I decided to take a prestigious management training program with the Federal government. I’m currently a Management Analyst with the US Department of Agriculture. This program has given me an opportunity to build a diverse portfolio quite quickly.
- My duties have included a variety of data collection and analysis tasks, as well as operations research, software development, contract management, as well as budget formulation and execution.
- I also have some leadership experience in the non-profit through serving as a Precinct Chair with the Tarrant County Democratic Party in Texas.
I have nominated myself for these positions because I believe the APA needs to focus its resources and efforts on promoting the goods of the discipline and its practitioners. That means working to articulate to the public as well as state and US lawmakers the importance of philosophy for our democracy. It also means working to help philosophers find careers that let them use their abilities for the public good while providing for themselves. That is why I have nominated myself for these two committees in particular.
- As a philosopher/civil servant I have practical experience using the knowledge, skills, and ability I cultivated as a researcher and writer to help leaders make impactful, data-driven decisions. Further, I will bring political savvy and at least some experience dealing with elected officials to the Public Philosophy Committee that will help the committee build bridges with state and Federal government.
- Further, as a ‘nobody' with an off-brand PhD who clawed and scratched his way through five years on the job market, I think I may be in a good position to help the Non-Academic Careers Committee create resources and disseminate information that will help job-seekers find rewarding, meaningful careers where their philosophical skills will be productive assets instead of just biographical curiosities.
As a member of either committee I would work to orient that committee’s agenda around the good of discipline and the membership and push the association to keep those committees agendas at the top of its priorities.
Allow me to mention one final qualification that I think is important. I have no personal or professional reason to curry favor with anyone at the APA. There is literally zero impact, good or bad, anyone associated with the APA could conceivably have on me, my family, or my career. Independence will allow my professional judgement to remain unclouded.
Recent Comments