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TagWestern 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…)
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…)
Philosophy Under Threat at Adrian College
The Department of Philosophy, Religion, and Leadership at Adrian College in Michigan is one of three departments targeted for elimination by the administration of the university. (more…)
Minnesota State Moorhead Plans to Cut Philosophy Major
The administration at Minnesota State University Moorhead announced a plan “designed to close a projected gap of $6 million in fiscal year 2022” that involves the elimination of around 65 positions and 10 major programs, including philosophy. (more…)
University of Saint Francis Plans to Cut Philosophy Major
The Board of Trustees of the University of Saint Francis, a Catholic liberal arts college in Fort Wayne, Indiana, has approved plans that would discontinue several of its academic programs, including its philosophy major. (more…)
University to “Align” Philosophy Major with Catholic Studies
The trustees of Newman University, a Catholic university in Kansas, have approved a plan proposed by the administration that will revise its philosophy and theology programs so that they “align strategically” with its new School of Catholic Studies. (more…)
Retrenchment at St. Cloud State Targets Philosophy Faculty (Updated)
Three members of the Department of Philosophy at St. Cloud State University (SCSU) in Minnesota may lose their jobs if the school’s administration decides to proceed with plans for “retrenchment.” (more…)
Wheeling Jesuit University Eliminates Philosophy Department (Updated)
Wheeling Jesuit University (WJU), a Catholic college in West Virginia, is eliminating its Department of Philosophy, including laying off its tenured faculty and ceasing course offerings, in an attempt to overcome financial difficulties. (more…)
Fredonia Philosophy Saved, For Now
The Department of Philosophy at the State University of New York at Fredonia, which had been targeted for elimination by the school’s administration, has gotten a reprieve. (more…)
Philosophy Chairs at All SUNY Campuses Come to Defense of Fredonia Dept. (UPDATED)
As reported last month, the administration of the State University of New York (SUNY) at Fredonia has proposed eliminating the school’s Department of Philosophy. In response, the chairs of the philosophy departments at all fifteen other SUNY campuses have now written a forceful letter to SUNY Fredonia’s president, Virginia Horvath, objecting to the proposal. (more…..
Philosophy Threatened at SUNY Fredonia
The administration at the State University of New York at Fredonia has targeted the school’s Department of Philosophy. (more…)
Philosophy Will Remain at University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the administration of which had previously announced plans to eliminate thirteen of its major programs, including philosophy, will be re-organizing in a way that preserves the philosophy major. (more…)
Philosophy Targeted at Lebanon Valley College
Administrators at Lebanon Valley College, a liberal arts college in central Pennsylvania, are currently considering an “academic restructuring” plan that will eliminate its philosophy major. (more…)
APA Creates “Department Advocacy Toolkit”
The American Philosophical Association (APA) has produced a “Department Advocacy Toolkit” to “provide strategies that may be useful to programs that are at risk, programs hoping to insulate themselves against future risk, and programs aiming to strengthen and/or expand.” (more…)
Why Did This Philosophy Program Survive?
Goucher College in Towson, Maryland, like several other institutions of higher education, has decided to cut its undergraduate programs. (more…)
Philosophy Targeted at Hiram College
The philosophy major at Hiram College in Ohio will be eliminated if a new “academic redesign” recommended by the interim dean of the college goes forward. (more…)
Sierra Nevada Fires Philosopher In Apparent Retaliation – UPDATED
The administration at Sierra Nevada College (SNC), a private liberal arts college in Nevada, has fired an associate professor of philosophy in what appears to be retaliation for her public criticism of the administration’s handling of the school’s financial problems. (more…)
Mills College Board of Trustees Approves Revised Plan: Philosophy Not Entirely Eliminated
The Mills College Board of Trustees on Monday approved a revised version of its “Financial Stabilization Plan.” The original version of the plan called for the firing its tenured philosophy faculty, full professor and department head Marc Joseph and associate professor Jay Gupta, and eliminating the Philosophy Department. The approved plan fired Joseph (who had call..
180 Seconds To Save Their Jobs
On June 6th, the Mills College administration and Board of Trustees announced plans to eliminate philosophy at Mills College and fire its two tenured philosophy professors, Marc Joseph and Jay Gupta. On Friday, the Board of Trustees offered each of them three minutes to provide testimony in defense of philosophy and their jobs. (more…)
Petition Launched to Preserve Philosophy at Mills College
In the wake of news reported last Wednesday that the administration and Board of Trustees of Mills College plans to eliminate the school’s philosophy department and fire its tenured faculty, a petition has been launched to “Uphold Principles of Academic Freedom and Preserve the Philosophy and Journalism Departments at Mills College.” (more…)
Univ. St. Thomas Administration Plans to “Terminate” Philosophy PhD Program (Update: Plans Have Changed)
The philosophy department… has been told that the administration plans to go to the board in the next week or two and terminate the PhD program. This, we are told, would allow the administration to change the terms of our contracts and increase course loads and remove tenure.
The foregoing remarks are from a statement sent to Daily Nous by John Hittinger, chai..
IPFW Faculty Declares No Confidence in Chancellor
The faculty at Indiana University – Purdue University, Fort Wayne (IPFW) have published a notice of no confidence in the university’s chancellor, Vicky Carwein, following Carwein’s decision to close several departments, including the Philosophy Department. (more…)
Chicago State’s Sudden Layoffs Include A Tenured Philosopher
Chicago State University has been facing a financial crisis. It relies on the state of Illinois for about 30% of its budget, but, owing to the previous financial and budgeting decisions the university’s administrators had made, along with the state’s “budget stalemate that left higher education without a dime for most of last year—and then provided only partial fu..
Western Illinois As Warning
Inside Higher Ed has an article following up on the recent news of the elimination of the philosophy major at Western Illinois University (WIU). As we previously reported, the committee charged with reviewing programs (APER) did not recommend the closure of the philosophy department. And while Illinois has a reporting requirement for programs with low enrollments at..
Good News for Philosophy at Wyoming
Last month, the philosophy program at the University of Wyoming was slated to be eliminated, owing to a budget crisis. Now—good news—the elimination itself has been slated for elimination. I just received word from the chair of the philosophy department at Wyoming, Franz-Peter Griesmaier. He writes:
There are positive new developments for philosophy at the Un..
Philosophy at Western Illinois Targeted (updated)
At its upcoming meeting in June, the Board of Trustees of Western Illinois University will take up Resolution 16.6/5 which, among other things, calls for the elimination of the university’s philosophy program as a way of responding to severe budget cuts: (more…)
Philosophy at University of Wyoming Threatened
The philosophy program at the University of Wyoming has been targeted for “elimination” by its administration in the face of impending budget cuts. Word of this came in a letter to the editor of the Laramie Boomerang from Renée M. Laegreid, a professor of history at the school (and brought to my attention by Matthew Weiner). Laegreid writes:
Governor Mead announc..
The Job Insecurity of Philosophy Instructors: A Case Study
“I love being a professor. I have been a professor my whole life. I don’t know what I am going to do.” That’s Pamela Ryan, who has been a philosophy instructor at Morehead State University for 15 years. This past Friday she was called into the office of the Dean of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Morehead, M. Scott McBride, and told t..