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Having taught at Siena for over 25 years, I have grown deeply dedicated to the ideals of Franciscan service and community-building.  I have a special interest in supporting diverse students on campus.  To this end, I helped to draft college policy for increasing faculty diversity and our Human Rights policy; I was faculty advisor for student clubs such as Latinos Unificando Nuestra America; I was a founding member of the Gay/Straight Alliance; I have worked closely with our own HEOP students, and served for more than 10 years on the Executive Board of the Albany Branch of the NAACP.

Degree Program University
Ph.D. Philosophy University of Rochester
M.A. Philosophy University of Rochester
B.A. Philosophy University of Rochester
H.S. Sidwell Friends

My Siena Experience

My Teaching Philosophy

I have developed an array of techniques to entice student interest and ensure participation: I teach by question, by the use of everyday examples, and by addressing questions of social justice.  Philosophical writing can be difficult, so I aim to make the ideas more accessible and relevant to contemporary events.

 

What I Love About Siena

My Favorite Courses to Teach

While I routinely teach our Introductory Course, Ethics, Philosophy of Science and Art, I have also had the privilege to teach courses in Environmental Studies, Women’s Studies, and in the initial years of the First Year Seminar.  

My Professional Experience

Current Research

While I came out of graduate school interested primarily in the overlap and comparison between Science and Art, I have increasingly become focused on questions of social justice, including issues of racism and sexism and questions about environmental degradation and disparities across populations.  In my scholarship and in my community I have been working on the role of art in community empowerment and on reconnecting youth to the wilderness. 

Awards & Distinctions

  • Reassigned time to continue research on Philosophy and the Environment
    Category: Research
    Siena College, 2013
  • Reassigned time to continue research on Philosophy and the Environment
    Category: Research
    Siena College, 2012
  • Reassigned time (2009-2012) to research Wittgenstein and Environment.
    Category: Research
    Siena College, 2009
  • Reassigned time (2006-2008) to research projects on Ludwig Wittgenstein
    Category: Research
    Siena College, 2006

Books & Book Chapters

  • Encyclopedia of American Philosophy
    Routledge
    2008
  • Philosophies of Science: from Foundations to Contemporary Issues
    Wadsworth Publishing
    1999

Presentations

  • The Relevance of Metaphysics to Animal Liberation and EcoFeminism
    2011
    Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Burlington, Vermont
  • Aldo Leopold as Walzerian Critic
    2010
    Association of Environmental Studies and Sciences, Madison, Wisconsin
  • Michael Walzer's Environmental Philosophy
    2009
    New York State Political Science Association, New York, New York
  • A Response to William Goodwin's 'How Does the Theologizing of Physics Contribute to Global Warming?'
    2008
    International Association for Environmental Philosophy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • A Response to William Goodwin's 'How Does the Theologizing of Physics Contribute to Global Warming?'
    2008
    International Association for Environmental Philosophy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
  • You're Out of the Ivory Tower Now: A Philosopher Joins the NAACP
    2007
    American Philosophical Association, Baltimore, Maryland