Cuts and Threats to Philosophy Programs

Philosophy at SUNY Potsdam Threatened (Again)

The president of SUNY Potsdam, Suzanne Smith, announced earlier this week a plan to eliminate 14 degree programs at the university, including philosophy, and cut an as-of-yet-unknown number of faculty. (more…)

ACU, Despite Citing University Finances as Reason for Cuts to Dianoia, Funds New Hires and Centers

Australian Catholic University (ACU) recently announced a plan that involves closing its Dianoia Institute of Philosophy and making 14 of its existing faculty compete through a re-application process for only 4 positions, as well as cutting faculty in history, political science, theology, and religious studies. (more…)

ACU Proposes Closing Dianoia Institute (multiple updates)

Australian Catholic University is apparently considering eliminating its Dianoia Institute of Philosophy (DIP), which it created in 2019 with hopes to “achieve a world-leading position for philosophical research in the analytic tradition.” (more…)

Petition to Save Philosophy & other Humanities at ACU

As reported earlier this week, Australian Catholic University is currently planning to shutter its philosophical research center, the Dianoia Institute, and eliminate or make cuts to other humanities programs. (more…)

Philosophy Survives West Virginia University Budget Cuts

Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University, has proposed cutting 9 percent of the majors the university offers and 7 percent of its fulltime faculty. (more…)

Philosophy Threatened at Simmons University

The administration of Simmons University has said that it is planning to close the school’s Department of Philosophy and end its major program. (more…)

Philosophy & Other Humanities Fields at Kent Threatened

The administration of the University of Kent is planning to lay off faculty in its Department of Philosophy and other humanities and arts fields. (more…)

Philosophy Major at Utica Targeted for Elimination

The president of Utica University, Laura Casamento, at the prompting of Utica’s Board of Trustees, has recommended that the university no longer offer students the opportunity to major in philosophy. A petition has been launched to protest the proposed elimination of the philosophy major. (more…)

Urgent Appeal to Save Philosophy at Fresno Pacific

Fresno Pacific University (FPU) has just laid off Nathan Carson, director of the university’s philosophy program and its only full-time (and tenured) philosophy professor, and plans to eliminate the school’s philosophy major and minor programs. An appeal of the decision has been made and is currently being considered by the administration. (more…)

Philosophy & Others Threatened at Birkbeck (Updated)

The Department of Philosophy at Birkbeck, University of London may be stripped of up to six faculty members , and other departments face the prospect of similar reductions. (more…)

The Reinstatement of an Undergraduate Philosophy Program

In 2019, Janet Levit, the then-provost of the University of Tulsa, arranged for the elimination of the school’s philosophy major. Now, new leadership at the university has committed to rebuilding its philosophy program. (more…)

University of Roehampton Possibly “Closing” Philosophy

The University of Roehampton in London is one of several UK universities that have recently announced budget-related closures of programs and the laying off of faculty, including, reportedly, in philosophy. (more…)

Philosophy Under Threat at SUNY Potsdam

“Our department is being threatened with elimination even though by all measures, except number of majors, we excel.” (more…)

Nebraska Board of Regents Cuts Philosophy at Nebraska-Kearney

The ax came down on the philosophy major at University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) this past Friday. (more…)

How Does Your University Count Double Majors?

The philosophy major program at the University of Nebraska, Kearney (UNK) is facing elimination, mainly over issues of low enrollments and numbers of majors, and one issue of contention between UNK’s Department of Philosophy and administration is how students double-majoring in philosophy and another field should be counted. (more…)

Save Philosophy at Bloomsburg

“In its desperate need to scapegoat something other than its own misadventures overbuilding, over-spending on everything but education… BU finds itself unable to fulfill its central mission: educational opportunity across that wide swath of disciplines that define a university.” (more…)

Nebraska at Kearney Philosophy Major May Be Eliminated (Updated)

The philosophy major at the University of Nebraska at Kearney (UNK) “is being considered for discontinuation.”
(more…)

Philosophy Departments Under Threat: Information, Pro-Active Strategies, Defense

Many philosophy departments and programs have been targeted for cuts or elimination over the past several years, and many currently are undergoing reviews by administrators looking to make budget cuts or other changes that may end up negatively affecting philosophy departments. (more…)

Devastating Cuts at Laurentian University To Philosophy & Many Other Programs

Following years of extraordinary mismanagement by administrators, Laurentian University is attempting to address its current financial insolvency by eliminating a shocking number of academic programs and tenured positions. The Department of Philosophy and several of its faculty are among those slated for elimination. (more…)

The Battle for Philosophy in Serbian Schools (guest post)

Recently, the Serbian government eliminated philosophy from its required courses in high schools, replacing it with a set of electives (one of which is “logic and ethics”), and raising concerns not just about the education of students but also about those responsible for teaching the philosophy courses losing their jobs. (more…)

Western Oregon Plans to Cut Philosophy Major & Minor

Western Oregon University (WOU) is planning to eliminate several degree programs, including its philosophy major and minor, and laying off half of its philosophy faculty. (more…)

To Help Avert University’s “Hunger Games,” A Philosopher Steps Down

Philosopher John Sutton will be voluntarily stepping down from his position as professor in the Department of Cognitive Science at Macquarie University as a way of helping his colleagues avoid a “Hunger Games”-style plan imposed by the university to cut faculty. (more…)

Guilford College Plans to Cut Philosophy Major — and 19 Others (updated)

Carol Moore, the interim president of Guilford College in North Carolina, has announced plans to “phase out 19 of its 42 academic majors,” including philosophy, and “cut 27 faculty positions, or 30% of its full-time faculty,” according to the News & Record. (more…)

Cabrini University to Cut Philosophy Major

Cabrini University, a Catholic College in Pennsylvania, has announced that it is eliminating several programs, including its philosophy major. (more…)

Midgley on Dummett & Strawson on Closing Philosophy Departments

He told me flatly that it was wrong in principle to try to preserve all these provincial academic departments. Philosophy, he said, was a serious and highly technical subject which should only be studied at its own proper level. Any less professional approaches to it were useless and might even do harm. (more…)