The Whiting Foundation has named Michael Burroughs, associate professor of philosophy and director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics at California State University, Bakersfield, as one of its Public Engagement Fellows.

The Whiting Public Engagement Fellowship program provides awards of $50,000 for projects that “infuse into public life the richness and nuance that give the humanities their lasting value.”

Professor Burroughs won the fellowship for his project, “Humanities Beyond Bars”, a collaboration with California State University’s Project Rebound and Historical Research Center that aims to “deepen understanding of the historical roots of imprisonment and its material and philosophical implications on people who live through it.” The project includes public programming, such as a symposium on mass incarceration and reimagining public safety, and an oral history project focused on formerly incarcerated students, among other things. You can learn more about it here.