December 15, 2017
Dear Alumni and Friends of the Department of Philosophy:
In our second issue of Colloquy, we continue with the format begun in our inaugural issue by featuring interviews with our alumni, faculty, and students. They talk about the varied paths that led them to philosophy and how philosophical study has influenced their lives.
This issue features interviews with alumni who have gone on to distinguished careers in academia. Our undergraduate alumnus, Herb Morris, is a professor emeritus in the Department of Philosophy and the School of Law, and was Dean of Humanities in UCLA’s College of Letters and Sciences. Our graduate alumna is Amy Kind, who is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Claremont McKenna College.
We also include interviews with three faculty members: Calvin Normore, our specialist in medieval philosophy, who has just been named the first Brian P. Copenhaver Professor of Philosophy; Josh Armstrong, who works in philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and cognitive science; and Barbara Herman, the Gloria and Paul Griffin Professor of Philosophy, who works on ethics, Kant, and political philosophy. We also get the perspectives of one of our current graduate students, Gabbrielle Johnson, who won the university’s 2016-17 Distinguished Teaching Award, and we include highlights from interviews with current undergraduates: Helen Lee, Jonathan Rogness, Pary Townson, and Elena Pogosova.
The generous support of our alumni and friends helps to make possible the education and the activities of these students. Whether through tutoring our students, helping our graduates find a career path, or donating to our programs, lectures, and the reading room, you help 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 Steven and Christine Udvar-Hazy whose generous endowment of the Brian P. Copenhaver Chair will support faculty research. Professor Brian Copenhaver, the Steven F. and Christine L. Udvar-Hazy Professor, retired this fall. In honor of his distinguished career as a provost and scholar, the Udvar-Hazys are renaming their endowed chair he occupies to the Brian P. Copenhaver Chair. We are pleased to be able to celebrate their gift in this issue by profiling its first occupant, Calvin Normore.
In closing, we hope you enjoy this issue and encourage you to keep in touch. You are always more than welcome at our colloquia, conferences, and special lectures. You can find notice of those events on our website. If you can’t make it in person, drop your former teachers a line and let us know how you are doing and your favorite memories of the department. Or, consider joining our alumni network where you can provide us your most current information and, if you wish, post a profile: http://philosophy.ucla.edu/alumni-friends-landing-page/. We’d love to hear from you one way or another.
Sincerely,
Seana Valentine Shiffrin
Chair, Department of Philosophy