June 15, 2017
Dear Alumni and Friends of the Department of Philosophy:
Philosophy is dialogue. So, we thought it fitting to name our newsletter “Colloquy” and to focus these pages on interviews and conversations with our alumni, faculty, and students. They talk about their philosophical interests and research as well as about how philosophical study has contributed to other aspects of, and paths through, life. We plan, in this and coming issues, to highlight the varied paths open to philosophy students and celebrate how philosophical study has facilitated the accomplishments, careers, and lives of our alumni.
This issue features interviews with an undergraduate alumna, Monika Zemsky, and a graduate alumnus, Mark Rubin, who have used their philosophical training in other fields to great and interesting eect.
We also include interviews with three faculty members: John Carriero, long our specialist in early modern philosophy; Daniela Dover, a recent hire, who works in political and social philosophy; and, Michael Rescorla, another recent hire who moved laterally from the University of California, Santa Barbara and specializes in philosophy of psychology, philosophy of logic, philosophy of mind, philosophy of language, and epistemology. We also get the perspective of one of our current graduate students who is completing her dissertation this year, Laura Gillespie, and we include highlights from interviews with current undergraduates: Austin Beltrand, Shushan Ginosyan, Tiffany Han, Kartik Raj, Eden Sayed, and Cassie Thompson.
As we reach out with news of our current endeavors, I should thank all of you who have made these activities possible through your support of the department over the years. Whether through tutoring our students, helping our graduates find a career path, or donating to our programs, lectures, and the reading room, you help to allow us to make philosophical thinking available to a wide range of people. We’re very grateful for your support.
We owe special thanks to Jordan and Christine Kaplan, Ken Panzer, Professor David Kaplan and Renée Kaplan. The Kaplan family together donated funds to endow a chair, the Presidential Professor of Philosophy, that will fund faculty research and graduate support. Jordan Kaplan and Ken Panzer spearheaded an important initiative that will allow us to improve graduate student funding substantially and to sponsor more international students in the years to come. Their initiative will have a transformative impact on our graduate program.
In closing, we hope you enjoy this initial issue (for which special thanks are due to Sarah Beach and Laura Clennon). Our inaugural issue coincides with Commencement, and so we want to extend a hearty congratulations to our one hundred forty-five graduating majors, our twenty-eight minors, and the three students who completed their Ph.D. in the academic year 2016-17.
Even as they are departing from campus, we encourage them and all of you to keep in touch. You are always more than welcome at our colloquia, conferences, and special lectures. You can find notices of those events on our website. If you can’t make it in person, drop your former teachers a line and let them know how you are doing and your favorite memories of the department. Or, consider joining our recently launched alumni network where you can provide us your most current information and, if you wish, post a profile. We’d love to hear from you one way or another!
Sincerely,
Seana Valentine Shirin
Chair, Department of Philosophy