Photo Credit: year in review graphic
by Ellen Kratzer July 1, 2020

Here's a recap of our student and faculty accomplishments in the last academic year.

Events

We hosted and took part in a number of events this past year, giving our faculty and students a wealth of extra-curricular experiences.

Sally Haslanger

  • We hosted a lecture by Sally Haslager. In November Haslanger came from MIT to deliver the Evans lecture and spoke on power and social agency. (Right: Sally Haslanger)
  • We were excited to be able to hold the Midwest Epistomology Workshop (MEW), a regional Philosophy conference, here at UNL this past October. The conference, which ran for two days and had eight speakers, was directed by Al Casullo. This regional conference aims “to advance interest in epistemology by organizing an annual workshop for the presentation and discussion of current work in the field.” 
  • The Ethics Center hosted its inaugural Ethics and Technology Bazaar. This 3-day event featured lectures, a resource fair, and outreach programs.

Undergraduate Student Accomplishments

We're very proud of everything that our students have accomplished this year.

  • We want to congratulate all of our 2019-2020 graduates.

    Fall 2019 graduates:
    Cornelio Jaimes
    Isabel Reynolds
    Anton Skretta
    Hayden White

    Spring 2020 graduates:
    Tyler Beck
    Vy Doan
    Asher Hilton
    Ian Hunter
    Tate Kollar
    Jada Loro
    Hayden Myers
    Caleb Nigrin
    Daniel Scheunemann
    Adam Tagart
    Stein Wiesner

  • We're very happy to see so many of our students make the Dean's List this past year.

    Dean’s List for fall 2019:
    Gabriel Adams
    Tyler Beck
    Pierce Bower
    David Cavada
    Matthew Cooke
    Aden Davis
    Vy Doan
    Andrew Graff
    Logan Hawkins
    Asher Hilton
    Ian Hunter
    Cornelio Jaimes
    Tate Kollar
    Rachael Lange
    Jada Loro
    Haley Mercer
    Hayden Myers
    Caleb Nigrin
    Hui Xin Crystal Seet
    Cole Shardelow
    Anton Skretta
    Ethan Weiche
    Leo Welch

    Dean’s List for spring 2020:
    Gillian Christine Allison
    Nicolas Annerino
    Tyler Alan Beck
    Pierce Logan Bower
    David Andres Cavada
    Logan Paul Hawkins
    Ariana Alexis Leybold
    Eric Cherrod Morris
    Caleb Thomas Nigrin
    Daniel Thomas Scheunemann
    Hui Xin Crystal Seet
    Cole Allen Shardelow
    Ethan Weiche
    Vy Mai Phuong Doan
    Emily Jean DeGraff
    Matthew Richard Cooke
    Aden Jeffrey Davis
    Jack W Reed
    Gabriel Christopher Adams
    Kayla Kremke
    Haley Nicole Mercer
    Rachael Ann Lange
    Hayden Premysl Myers
    Ian Jacob Hunter
    Nicolas Annerino
    Aden Davis
    Ariana Leybold
    Daniel Scheunemann

Philosophy Club at Big Red Welcome

  • Our Philosophy Club met weekly to discuss philosophical topics. This is an undergrad-run club and we are so excited to see this kind of passion for philosophy in our undergraduate students. (Left: Philosophy Club answers questions at their booth during Big Red Welcome)

Graduate Student Accomplishments

Christpher Stratman

  • Christopher Stratman was awarded the Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award in May. The award celebrates a TA who has demonstrated "special effectiveness in teaching undergraduates at Nebraska."  (Right: Christopher Stratman)
  • We awarded five PhDs this year, and we are excited to announce our new doctoral graduates:

    Gabriel Bruguier
    Thesis: A Defense of the Resonating Role Account of Meaning in Life
    Advisor: John Brunero

    Zachary Garrett
    Thesis: Vagueness and the Logic of the World
    Advisor: Reina Hayaki

    Katerina Psaroudaki
    Thesis: The “Beneficiary-Pays” Principle and Race-Conscious Affirmative Action
    Advisors: Aaron Bronfman and John Brunero

    Chelsea Richardson
    Thesis: Upon the Body: Examining the Relationship Between Race and Ancestry
    Advisors: Jennifer McKitrick and Harry Ide

    Andrew Spaid
    Thesis: Desire-Satisfaction Theories and the Problem of Depression
    Advisors: Joseph Mendola and John Brunero

  • Our Graduate Student Research Colloquia is a weekly meeting to discuss original research that our graduate students are conducting. The colloquia met weekly and continued on Zoom after classes went remote. Our graduate students are doing amazing work, and we had presentations on topics ranging from epistemology, metaphysics, political philosophy, and philosophy of language to aesthetic expertise, cognitive phenomenology, and fairness in sports.

Faculty Accomplishments

We are happy to announce the achievements of our wonderful faculty.

  • Aaron Bronfman was awarded $82,400 from the Open Education Resources Kelly Grant for instructional development. The goal of the Kelly Grant is to provide support for faculty who are working to develop open education resources. 
  • John Brunero has been appointed President of the Central States Philosophical Association. In 2019, he served as Vice President.

David Henderson with the Dalai Lama

  • David Henderson had the opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama. After spending six years working with the Emory Tibet Science Initiative and helping develop the curriculum, The Dharma of Science: Philosophy of Science for Buddhist Scholars, Henderson was able to present a published copy of that curriculum to His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. (Right: David Henderson presents his curriculum to the Dalai Lama)
  • Mark van Roojen became one of the editors of the journal Philosophy and Phenomenological Research in fall 2019.

Publications

We want to congratulate all of our faculty who have worked hard to get their work published this past year.

Book cover: John Brunero's Instrumental Reality

  • John Brunero recently published his book Instrumental Rationality: The Normativity of Means-Ends Coherence. Brunero also published two articles throughout the year. In November, he published “Fittingness and Good Reasoning” in the Journal of Ethics and Social Philosophy along with a review of Benjamin Kiesewetter’s The Normativity of Rationality in Philosophical Review in April. (Left: John Brunero's Instrumental Reality)
  • Colin McLear published two articles: “On the Transcendental Freedom of the Intellect” in Ergo: An Open Access Journal of Philosophy, and “Animals and Objectivity” in Kant on Animals.
  • Mark van Roojen published three articles this past year: “Promising and Assertion,” in The Oxford Handbook of Assertion, “Second Thoughts about ‘Wishful Thinking’ (and Non-Cognitivism)” in Res Philosophica, and “Motivation, Recommendation, Non-Cognitivism, and the Naturalistic Fallacy,” in The Naturalistic Fallacy.
  • Jennifer McKitrick published her article “Potentialities as Properties” in Philosophical Inquiries.
  • David Henderson published The Dharma of Science: Philosophy of Science for Buddhist Scholars with Mark Risjord as a part of the Emory-Tibet Science Initiative. Henderson also published The Routledge Handbook in Social Epistemology which he co-edited. He also authored three of the chapters in the handbook: "On the Background of Social Epistemology," "Overview, Science and Social Epistemology" and "Epistemic Norms as Social Norms."

We are happy to look back on our accomplishments over this past year and we are excited to get back to campus this fall and see what the next year has in store for our department.