Bernardo Joaquin Canteñs, Ph.D.
Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost
Sul Ross State University
Part of the Texas State University System
(570)730-3570
I. Education
Philosophy
1999 Ph.D., M.A., Philosophy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL.
Dissertation: Suárez (1548-1617) and Meinong (1853-1920) on Beings of Reason and Non-existent Objects.
1993 B.A. Philosophy, Florida International University, Miami, FL.
Graduating with Honors Cum Laude
Award for Outstanding Academic Achievement in Philosophy and Religious Study
Business: Accounting
1993 M.A. Accounting, School of Business, Florida International University, Miami, FL.
1987 B.A. Accounting, School of Business, Florida International University, Miami, FL.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Provost Summit: Leading for Innovation and Growth 2024
In today’s rapidly changing world, innovation has become a critical driver of success for individual leaders and their organizations. However, fostering a culture of innovation is not easy—especially in academia, where traditions and hierarchy often prevail. This unique event aims to bring Provosts together to connect with peers, develop their leadership, and learn proven strategies for fostering an innovative mindset and culture at their institutions. Participants learn about key elements of an innovative culture, such as openness, experimentation, collaboration, and risk-taking, and hear translatable examples of how other institutions have successfully cultivated them.
Becoming a Provost Academy (BAPA) 2022-2023
BAPA is a leadership program tailored to the distinctive needs of aspiring provosts (chief academic officers). Co-sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the American Academic Leadership Institute (AALI), this yearlong program provides comprehensive preparation for provosts' most critical concerns. BAPA also helps participants better understand the broader context within which their own institutions operate and develop perspectives beyond their current position, division, and institution.
Quality Matters Master Reviewer Certification (QM-MRC) 2018-Present
The QM-MRC is an advanced certification course for experienced QM Peer Reviewers. The role of the QM Master Reviewer is integral to ensuring the rigor and consistency of the peer-review process. In this course, Peer Reviewers learn the role of Master Reviewers, including management of the entire review process and coaching peers to ensure helpful recommendations are provided for online course improvements.
II. Employment and Positions Held
Current Position
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January 2022-Present, Executive Vice President, Provost, and Chief Academic Officer, Sul Ross State University, Alpine, Texas (Part of the Texas State University System)
Previous Positions
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Moravian University (2008-2021)
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Associate Provost for Global Education and Online Innovation
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Chair of the Philosophy Department
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Full Professor (2010)
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Barry University (2000-2008)
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Assistant Professor of Philosophy (2000-2005)
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Associate Professor of Philosophy (2005-2008)
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Saint John Vianney Seminary (1997-2999)
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University of Miami (1994-1999)
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1994-1999 Graduate Assistant
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Coopers & Lybrand (1988-1993)
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Auditor, CPA
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III. Administrative Experience
Sul Ross State University, Executive Vice President of Academic Affairs and Provost (1/1/2022-Present)
Sul Ross State University (SRSU) is a Hispanic-serving institution and comprehensive regional university in the Texas State University System. SRSU offers 60 undergraduate programs and 25 graduate degrees. We have seven colleges, 17 departments, and four campuses in Alpine, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and Uvalde. We have 209 faculty members and over 400 employees.
As the Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, I am the institution's chief academic officer and the spokesperson for academic affairs. I oversee the University's academic activities, curriculum development, student success, institutional research, accreditations, assessment, library, centers and institutes, faculty recruitment, promotion, and tenure.
Direct Reports
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The Office of the Registrar
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The Office of Institutional Effectiveness
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Associate Provost for Research and Development
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Librarian, Wildenthal Memorial Library
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Dean of the Jimmy D. Case College of Literature, Arts and Social Sciences
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Dean of the College of Education and Professional Studies
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Dean of the College of Agriculture, Life & Physical Sciences
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Dean of the College of Health Sciences
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Dean of College of Graduate Studies
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Dean of the Rio Grande College of Business
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Dean of Rio Grande College of Humanities and Sciences
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Dean of Online and Distance Education Programs
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Assistant Dean of Student Success
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Blackboard Administrators and Instructional Technologists
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Online Distance Education Committee
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Director of Online Teaching and Quality Matters Manager
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All these initiatives and accomplishments have been a team effort that required the participation of deans, faculty, and staff.
Enrollment Initiatives and Accomplishments at SRSU
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New Marketing Campaign for Online Graduate Programs. We partnered with 4A Media, part of Optimum Media, to develop a comprehensive marketing campaign for our graduate online programs. Our graduate online enrollment has increased by over 20%. Our Hispanic headcount for our graduate online programs increased by 38% since 2022.
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New Marketing Campaign for Traditional Students. Worked with World Design Marketing to develop a three-year comprehensive marketing plan to recruit more traditional residential students. The marketing strategies include addressable geofencing of the home addresses of all the families of high school students throughout the SRSU region; geofence each high school in our service area; use of device attribution technology to identify every other device associated with these users to follow them across their computers, tablets, and connected TVs; send digital ads to targeted individuals based on key demographic targets; deliver highly targeted video ads using over-the-top media technology (OTT). We rounded out the strategy with local print, behaviorally targeted display ads, site retargeting, and high-visibility billboards to increase our reach and visibility.
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Expanded Online Dual Credit Programs. We expanded our dual enrollment market by creating the Texas Core Curriculum synchronous online courses. The project’s focus was high-quality and consistent courses using Quality Matters standards. We created 24 new courses and delivered 42 new sections in the spring of 2024 and 80 new sections in the fall of 2024. We increased our dual credit enrollment from 59 to 502 students, a 900% increase. Overall, our enrollment increased by 40% in spring 2024 and 20% in fall 2024.
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Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). We are in the process of accrediting our new College of Business with the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). ACBSP is a global business education accrediting body and the first organization to offer accreditation to all levels of collegiate business educational degree programs from associate to doctoral.
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Created New Partnerships. We have created partnerships with junior colleges to recruit more transfer students, high schools to recruit more dual enrollment students, and international institutions to recruit more international students. All of these have an important role to play in growing our enrollment. Here are some recent examples. High schools: Eagle Pass Independent School District (ISD), Marathon, ISD, Alpine ISD, Midland ISD, Fort Davis ISD, Presidio ISD, Fort Stockton ISD. Junior Colleges: Lamar State College Orange, Lamar State College Port Author, Lamar Institute of Technology; Midland College, Odessa College, College of the Mainland, Dallas College. Internation: Universidad Autónoma Agraria Antonio Narro, México; Universidad Politécnica de Piedras Negras, México: Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua, México; Ming Chi University of Technology, Taiwan; Uttaranchal University Dehradun, India; University of Cordoba, Spain
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Seal of Excelencia. In 2024, we received the Seal of Excelencia. Exelecia's mission is to achieve success for Latino students in higher education. Excelencia is committed to significantly increasing the number of Latino students attaining college degrees by 2030 in partnership with institutions. As part of this commitment, Excelencia in Education established the Seal of Excelencia, a national certification for institutions that strive to go beyond enrollment to serve Latino students intentionally.
Retention and Student Success at SRSU
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Implemented Equitable Access Book Purchase Program. One major issue at our university is that students do not purchase their books on time. This leads to attrition and a decrease in student retention efforts. We have partnered with Follett to streamline students’ academic journey with industry-leading technology to empower them to get their course materials on time, making learning a smooth process for all. At Sul Ross, for flat fee of $250, all students have access to all their textbooks. The $250 is included in their financial aid package, and texts are automatically provided to students on the first day of class. Students have the option to opt out of the program.
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Created the Assistant Dean of Student Success Position and the Lobo LEADS program. The Dean of Student Success oversees institution-wide student retention activities and services, oversees the First Year Seminar Program, coordinates the development of policies and procedures regarding academic advising and tutoring services, and oversees the implementation of fundamental policies improving student success. The Assistant Dean for Student Success reports to the provost. Data shows that SRSU retained freshmen participating in the LEAD program from 2023 to 2024 at a rate 23.5 percent higher than their peers.
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Created Faculty Mentoring Program. Created a faculty mentoring program in which students are assigned a faculty mentor. Each faculty mentor may have up to 10 mentees. The first iteration took place in the spring of 2023, and it included 13 faculty and 75 students. The second iteration took place in the fall of 2023, including 23 faculty and 158 students.
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Revamped our First-Year Seminar. The First-Year seminar is an essential vehicle for student retention and success. It is an opportunity to deliver an engaging program for students that provides them with a holistic curriculum and information about the University’s services. It also provides an opportunity to captivate their intellectual curiosity through stimulating content.
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Created Academic Retention Administrators (ARA) Positions. Departments have administrative assistants who have traditionally been focused on assisting faculty. We have modified our departmental administrative assistants’ job descriptions to focus on student needs, activities, clubs, etc.
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Created a Peer Mentoring Program. The peer mentors are second-year students who work with the faculty mentors, FYS instructors, and the Academic Retention Administrators. They are students who completed the first-year leadership program and the First-Year Seminar. Their objective is to help first-year students navigate the complicated world of higher education.
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Enhanced the University Student Leadership Program. The leadership program has been enhanced from a one-year program to a four-year program. This cohort of twenty students dedicates service to the institution annually by serving as peer mentors, ambassadors, FYS assistants, and Academic Retention Administrators assistants.
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Transformed Advising and Tutoring Office. We have worked with the advisors to restructure the advising office. We have professional advisors for each college for all first-time college students. Once students choose a major, they are given an advisor within that major. We have a fully staffed advising and tutoring office and a 24/7 tutoring service. We aim to be more responsive to our student's needs and work more collaboratively with our faculty.
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Partnered with the National Society of Leadership and Success (NSLS). The NSLS is an organization that provides a life-changing leadership program that helps students achieve personal growth and career success and empowers them to impact their community positively. We started this program in 2024, and we have 37 students enrolled. Our goal is to reach 100 students in this program.
Vision and Leadership SRSU
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Completed the SRSU new 2022-2027 Strategic Plan. We completed the 2022-2027 Strategic Plan, which the Board of Regents approved in 2023.
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Completed our SACSCOC Fifth-Year Report. We completed the SACSCOC fifth-year report successfully through shared leadership and teamwork. We received only one recommendation from SACSCOC.
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Revised the Tenure and Promotion Process. We aligned tenure and promotion, so faculty go up for both simultaneously. We also developed a process that will provide constructive and beneficial feedback for candidates. We converted a manual process to a digital one, greatly enhancing our university’s faculty governance procedures.
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Created a Third Year Review. To ensure meaningful feedback during tenure track faculty’s probationary period, we created a Third-Year Review process that gives faculty significant input and time to make necessary changes to their dossier for a successful tenure and promotion process.
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Created Faculty Onboarding Process. Created a two-day onboarding for all new faculty. The start of a faculty appointment is a threshold moment that provides an opportunity for new professors to develop a sense of belonging.
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Created the Annual Provost-Deans Retreat. The purpose of this retreat is to take time from our daily schedule, which consumes us with daily managerial duties, to reflect and think about “the big picture.” In thinking about the big picture, we want to create a safe space for leaders to express their visions of their academic units.
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Created the Annual President-Vice President Retreat. The purpose of this retreat is to provide time and space away from the university campus for the leadership of each of the institution’s divisions to reflect, discuss, and implement high-level strategies that align with the institution's mission, vision, and strategic plan. The 2024 was the first retreat of its kind, and we focused on enhancing the university's culture.
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Created a Chairs Professional Development Program. Created a cohort-based leadership development program for their Department Chairs and Directors. The provost recognizes the importance of developing leadership – especially at the unit head level, where many of the most critical decisions are made. Bringing a program in-house has multiple advantages, including being more cost-effective, developing a network of support among the Chairs, and ensuring the content is highly customized to SRSU’s context, which is important as the College is experiencing significant growth and change (hiring of two new Deans and the formation of two new colleges).
Faculty Morale and Institutional Culture at SRSU
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Communicated the Provost’s Vision and Value Statements. Higher education leaders ought to clearly express their vision and values to the community and stakeholders. I have published these on our Academic Affairs webpage: (https://www.sulross.edu/academic-affairs/). They are model ethical behavior; create transparency of information, processes, and decision-making; advance and protect academic freedom; practice and endorse shared governance; pursue excellence in curriculum development, teaching, and research; create an inclusive community in which every voice counts; support respectful and civil engagement; establish fair academic policies and implement them consistently; create a culture of trust among members of the institution.
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Developed a Comprehensive Faculty Salary Market Adjustment Plan. Our faculty and adjuncts were extremely underpaid, and this affected faculty morale. We developed a three-year plan to make significant market adjuncts to faculty and adjunct compensation. The plan calls for 20% to 30% increase over three years for adjuncts, instructors, assistant professors, associate professors, and professors. This has significantly improved our campus culture.
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Created an Outstanding Online Teaching Award. Online teaching is central to our mission. The adoption of Quality Matters and the hiring of a Director of Online Teaching has significantly increased the importance of online teaching. Another demonstration of the institution’s value of online teaching is creating a special award for online teaching.
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Created the Outstanding Faculty Scholars Award. We created the Outstanding Scholars Award in 2022 to emphasize the importance and value of research for career growth among the faculty.
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Created the Outstanding Faculty Service Award. We created an Outstanding Service Award in 2022 to emphasize the importance and value of service for career growth among our faculty.
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Created a Faculty Research Forum. Created a humanities and science research forum to expose faculty to the research and scholarly expertise available across SRSU. The purpose of the research forum is to encourage interdepartmental collaboration, increase research productivity, and reinvigorate waning programs.
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Created a Faculty Recognition Ceremony. Created a faculty recognition ceremony dinner, which is held at the beginning of every academic year, to celebrate our faculty’s accomplishments, tenure, promotion, and awards.
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SRSU Received the Professors Regents Award in 2024. The Board of Regents of the Texas State University System annually recognizes exceptional teachers from TSUS member institutions with the Regents' Teacher Award. Regents' Teachers are selected based on their outstanding performance as educators, contributions to the development of courses, and use of innovative teaching methods, among other criteria. In addition to a commemorative medallion and board resolution, winners receive a $5,000 cash award and maintain the title of Regents' Teacher for the duration of their service within TSUS. SRSU’s Dr. Jennifer Miller-Ray received the award. The last time SRSU received this award was eight years ago in 2016.
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SRSU Received the Regents’ Student Scholar Award in 2024. The Board of Regents of the Texas State University System recognizes at least one outstanding student from a TSUS member institution each year with the Regents' Student Scholar Award. Student Scholars are nominated by institution presidents and selected by the chancellor based on their outstanding academic achievement and scholarship, leadership abilities, and contributions to the institution and their community. In addition to a commemorative medallion and board resolution, Regents' Student Scholars receive $5,000 credited toward their educational expenses. Student Scholars are formally recognized at the Board of Regents meeting each November. SRSU’s Jacob Spurlock received the award in 2024. Sul Ross has only received this award three time in the past 12 years.
Online Teaching and Learning at SRSU
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Created the Director of Online Teaching and Learning and Quality Matters Manager position. The director of online teaching and learning and QM manager oversees all the online training and professional development on campus. She works with instructional designers and technologists and ensures quality professional development is provided to instructors throughout campus. Over 70% of our faculty have completed the Applying the Quality Matters Rubric course in the last three years.
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Quality Matters Project. Quality Matters is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. Its mission is to promote and improve the quality of online education and student learning nationally and internationally through development of current, research-supported, and practice-based quality standards and appropriate evaluation tools and procedures; recognition of expertise in online education quality assurance and evaluation; fostering a culture of continuous improvement by integrating QM standards and processes into organizational plans to improve the quality of online education; providing professional development in the use of rubrics, tools and practices to improve the quality of online education; Peer review and certification of quality in online education. Over 80% of our faculty are trained in Quality Matters.
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Ranked Online Programs. In 2023, OnlineMastersDegrees.org ranked our Homeland Security and Political Science programs first in online learning in the U.S. Counseling was eighth, and Criminal Justice was ranked tenth. They are ranked by overall quality, affordability, and commitment to student success.
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90% Graduate Online Programs. Over 90% of our graduate students are exclusively online (compared to 40% of our comparison group). We pride ourselves on developing excellent, quality online synchronous and asynchronous courses. See IPEDS for 2023.
New Programs and Developing the Curriculum at SRSU
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Curriculum Management System. We replaced the manual curriculum process with Curriculog, an automated curriculum management system. Curriculog automates the process of curriculum approval, helping colleges and universities approve course and program changes and improve communication about the curriculum across campus. This has significantly enhanced our curriculum development process. We had over 100 new curriculum changes in October 2024.
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Catalog Management System. We replaced a PDF catalog with Acalog, a real-time, engaging catalog management system that improves the process and efficiency.
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Created a New College of Business. The new College of Business developed the following new programs: MBA in Marketing, MBA in Information Technology Management, MBA in Finance, MBA in Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise, MBA Global, MBA General, Masters of Science in Management, Masters in Cyber Security and Risk Management, Change Leadership and Communication Certificate, Advanced Financial Strategy and Control Certificate, Business Challenges and Cyber Risk Management Certificate, Digital Fraud and Risk Management Certificate, Strategic Business Analytics Reporting Certificate, Marketing Dynamics and Economic Decision Making Certificate, and Strategic Leadership and Innovation.
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Created a New College of Health Sciences. The new College of Health Science consolidated our Departments of Kinesiology, Nursing, and our new Health Studies. This curricular reorganization will give Sul Ross the resources to grow its health-related degrees and provide new career opportunities in the health sciences for students.
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Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership. We are in the developmental stages of the first doctorate at Sul Ross State University. The new Doctorate will emphasize Leadership for Rural, Borderland, and Linguistically Diverse Communities and Specialize in PK-12 Leadership with Superintendent Certification Embedded and higher education leadership.
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Other New Program Development. Working to develop new programs in high demand and need for our region, we created new degrees in Forensic Science, Health Administration, Environmental Sciences, RN to BSN, Supply Chain Management, Organizational Leadership, and others.
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We created the Water and the Desert Conference, which took place on January 18, 2024. We partnered with Texas Park and Wildlife, Environmental Defense Fund Rio Grande Research Center, the Texas Water Foundation, Texas Agriculture Land Trust, Texas Runs on Water, The Nature Conservancy, Dixon Water Foundation, Horizon Foundation, Still Water Foundation, Texas Well Spring, and King Land and Water. It was a collaborative effort with internal and external partners.
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Created the West Texas Water Research Center. We are at the planning stages of the West Texas Water Research Center. To start the Center, we received a $375,000 challenge grant from Horizon Foundation and a $7.5 million Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) grant from the Department of Education.
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Recruitment of New Professors. In the past three years, we have hired 42 new professors and three new deans to expand and reinvigorate our departments, degrees, and program offerings.
Institutional Grants for the past five years at SRSU
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We have 55 active grants with an award amount of $63,587,799 with over 7 million grants pending.
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We have tripled the amount of outstanding grants since 2022, from 20 million to over 60 million.
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In the past three years, we have received over 40 million in grants and over 7 million in pending grants.
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We have tripled our grant awards in the last three years to 47 grants.
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2020 6 grants for $11,379,510
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Assessing the sources of Pronghorn Restoration in the Trans-Pecos, Texas Parks, and Wildlife (2018-2025) $512,325
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GEAR-Up Project ReACH, U.S. Department of Education (DOE) (2020-2025) $6,277,600.
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TRIO Student Support Services, 5-yeara (2020-2022) U.S. DOE $1,375,525.
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Title V – The Frontier Student Experience (2020-2025) U.S. DOE $2,883,386.
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Partners for Habitat, (2020-2025) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service $150,000.
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Restoring Marfa and Marathon Grassland Habitat for Wintering Migratory Birds (2020-2023) National Fish and Wildlife $180,674.
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2021 8 grants for $ 11,725,943
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Fescue Rescue: A bi-national augmentation project (2021-2023) Texas Parks and Wildlife, $14,525.
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Museum of the Big Bend Capital Renovation (2021-2025) National Endowment for the Humanities $750,000.
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Advancing Chemistry. Improving Life (2021-2024) Welch Foundation $75,000.
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Noyce Scholars in La Frontera (2021-2026) National Science Foundation $1,333,429
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Mental Health Counseling Services in Southwest Texas (2021-2025) U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (Via University of Texas-El Paso) $640,860
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TRIO Talent Search (2021-2026) DOE $1,395,200
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Title III, Part F Lobo Track to STEM Success (2021-2026) U.S. DOE $4,959,149
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Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA) Advancing Graduate programs in La Frontera (2021-2026) $2,557,780
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2022 12 grants for $15,900,505
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Chiral Polyoxometalate (POM) (2022-2024) American Chemical Society $55,000 .
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Native Seeds Development and Outreach for Grassland Restoration (2022-2023) National Fish and Wildlife Foundation $61,771.
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Aoudad Impacts on Native Habitat (2022-2024) National Park Services $43,600
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Greater Big Bend Conservation Initiative (2022-2027) U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Services $3,500,000.
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Evaluating Barrier Permeability and Highway Crossing Locations of Pronghorn (2022-2024 Texas Department of Education $86,020.
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Building and Construction Trades: Electrician, Plumber & Building Inspector Certification Program (2022-2023) $36,583.
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Congressionally Funded Community Projects-Archeology, Anthropology, and Cultural Research Initiative (2022-2025) DOE $1,000,000.
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BAM 2.0: Investigating Density-Dependent Competition Among Desert Bighorn, Aoudad, and Mule Deer to Identify Achievable Management Targets (2022-2029) Texas Parks and Wildlife $2,154,086.
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TRIO Upward Bound (2022-2027) DOE $1,755,87
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RIO Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (2022-2027) DOE $1,309,440.
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itle V-Creating a Culture of Care (2022-2027) $2,990,971.
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PPOHA-Accelerating Opportunity and Access in West Texas (2022-2027) DOE $2,907,179.
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2023 19 grants for $12,960,056
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Small Business Development Center -Alpine (2023-2025) U.S. Small Business Administration $240,079.
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Small Business Development Center -RGC (2023-2025) U.S. Small Business Administration $373,560.
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Implementing a Needs Assessment for Promoting Restorative and Integrative Mental Health (2023) American Psychological Association $10,000.
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Expanding Access and Increasing Capacity in Far West Texas (2023-2025) U.S. Department of Commerce, National Telecommunications, and Information Administration $2,770,417.
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SRSU Theatre Program (2023-2024) The Brown Foundation $25,000.
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Archives of the Bid Bend Digital Preservations (2023-2025) $5,160.
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Grassland Habitat for Pollinators under Different Mowing Regimes at Fort Davis National Historic Site 2023-2027) National Park Services $68,150.
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Assessing and Mitigating Potential Ecological Impact to Larger Mammals from Border Barrier Systems Construction and Installations in South Texas (2023-2027) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services $850,406.
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Apache Corporation Grant (2023-2026) Apache Corporation $895,840.
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Developing a Reliable Monitoring Program for Recolonizing Black Bears in the Trans-Pecos (2023-2027) Fish and Wildlife Service $817,065
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Nursing Innovation Grant (2023-2025) $157,094.
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Trans-Pecos Desert Grasslands and Riparian Conservation Initiative (2023-2027) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service $2,812,800.
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Livestock Tanks for Migratory and Wintering Grassland Birds in the Trans-Pecos (2023-2026) $82,485.
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Lower Canyons Research (2023-2024) National Park Foundation $30,113.
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Trans-Pecos Grazing Lands Conversation Partnership: Enhancing Stewardship in an Arid Environment (2023-2025) U.S. Department of Agriculture, National Resources and Conservation Service $298,900.
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Preserving and providing access to the Texas Map Research Center (2023-2025) $200,000.
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Digital Transformation and Modernization in Far West Texas (2023-2028) DOE $2,993,974.
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Trans-Pecos Grazing Lands Conservation Partnership Program, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service ,10/1/23 – 7/31/25 $298,900
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Lower Canyons Research National Park Foundation, 10/1/23 – 9/30/24 $30,113
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2024 18 grants for $11,425,133
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Basic Needs Recognition Grants Swipe Out Hunger Katy Williams 1/1/24 – 12/31/24 $6,000
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Presidential Plus Scholarship Permian Basin Area Foundation Enrollment Services 01/01/24 –12/31/25 $300,000
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Museum of the Big Bend Elementary and Middle School OutreachPermian Basin Area Foundation Rebekah Antrosio 01/01/24 – 12/31/25 $5,500Summer Theater Program Brown Foundation Carolyn Barrientes 01/01/24 – 12/31/24 $25,000
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Investigating Niche Plasticity Desert Bighorn Sheep Rob & Bessie Welder Wildlife Foundation Justin French 01/01/24 – 12/31/24 $21,600
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First-Generation Student Celebration Center for First-Generation Student Success 01/01/24 – 12/31/24 $1,000
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Groundwater Monitoring Presidio County Underground Water Conservation District 1/15/24 – 1/31/25 $17,896
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A Retrospective Approach to Guid Agricultural Literacy in the 21stCenturyU.S. Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (transfer from Montana State University) 3/1/24 – 12/31/24 $101,486
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Students Learn Students Vote NEO Philanthropy, Inc. Katy Williams 05/20/24 – 12/15/24 $4,500.
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Departmental Chemistry Grant Welch Foundation Hong-Young Chang 06/01/24 – 05/21/27 $75,000.
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Equipment Grant Welch Foundation Hong-Young Chang 06/01/24 – 05/31/25 $75,000
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Creating and Sustaining Noyce Mentors en la Frontera: a HIS Collaborative Capacity Building Grant National Science Foundation Jennifer Miller 06/01/24 – 05/31/25 $149,521
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Livestock Grazing Systems Within a Desert Ecosystem Dixon Water Foundation Carlos “Lalo” Gonzalez 07/01/24 – 06/30/27 $252,000
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Harry Warren Collection Digitization Project Texas State Libraries an Archives Commission Victoria Contreras 07/01/24 – 06/30/25 $9,999Page 4 of 4
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Active and Pending Grants as of September 20, 2024Nursing Shortage Reduction Program Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Minerva Gonzales 07/15/24 – 08/31/28 $376,880
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Congressionally Funded Community Projects – Midstream Critical Manufacturing Industry Cyber security Hub U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Lab 09/01/24 – 08/31/27 $2,500,000
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Joint Admission Medical Program Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Chris Ritzi 09/01/24 – 08/31/25 $12,142
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PPOHA – Water in the Desert: Cooperation and Purpose-built Programs in Far West Texas U.S. Department of Education Louis Harveson 10/01/24 – 09/30/29 $7,497,102
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Pending Grants 7,159,780
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BRC-BIO: Unveiling Patterns of Recent Diversification in Amphibians and Reptiles of the Isolated Meratus Mountains in Kalimantan, Indonesia National Science Foundation 06/28/24 $499,275
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Far West Texas Conservation Partnership U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resource Conservation Service 07/02/24 $1,230,000*
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TRIO Student Support Services U.S. Department of Education Erika Zwahr 07/15/24 $1,430,505
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Theater of the Big Bend’s 60thSeason of Outdoor Theater National Endowment for the Arts 07/23/24 $100,000
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La Vida Lobo U.S. Department of Education Katy Williams 08/25/24 $900,000
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Leaders Inspiring Frontier Teachers (LIFT): an HSI Noyce Collaborative Grant National Science Foundation Jennifer Miller 08/27/24 $3,000,000
Moravian University, Associate Provost for Online Innovation and Global Education
Associate Provost of Global Education and Online Innovation (2019-2022)
Moravian became a university in 2021. It was a small liberal arts college that, in 2014, began to grow its graduate programs in education, business, nursing, health sciences, and rehabilitation sciences. When I left in 2021, they had 25 graduate programs. The FTE was 1820 undergraduate students and 445 graduate students. They had 139 full-time and 155 part-time faculty, offering over 55 undergraduate majors and minors.
As associate provost for online education and innovation, I oversaw all the university's online education, faculty professional development, and online program development. I reported to the provost, and I worked collaboratively with the deans, chairs of the departments, and individual faculty members. As associate provost of online education and innovation, one of my most significant challenges and accomplishments was overseeing the university's transition from in-person to online teaching during the pandemic. Fortunately, we had an excellent team of instructional technologists and instructional designers who supported the transition. We were also fortunate to be an Apple-designated institution, where all our students, faculty, and staff had an iPad and a Mac computer.
Selected Administrative Initiatives and Accomplishments
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We manage the University's Office of Online Education and Innovation (OEI). The office has an office manager, two instructional designers, and two instructional technologists. We oversee all the University’s online professional development, online program initiatives, and online education standards.
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Created a new budget for online education programs: MBA, Nursing, and Adult Education and Degree Completion.
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Served as the principal spokesperson for the college on issues concerning online education in regional, national, and international forums, as well as alumni and outside agents.
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Created an asynchronous online professional development course for all faculty: Designing for Quality: Best Practices in Online Course Design. This was a comprehensive online training course based on Quality Matters Standards. The course facilitators are Moravian Faculty and Quality Matters Certified Peer Reviewers. The course facilitators are Moravian Faculty and Quality Matters Certified Peer Reviewers.
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Directed and worked with outside consultants, Extension Engine, on a $200,000 project to implement an educational program to overcome challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis.
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Created extensive summer workshops to help faculty transition from in-person to online teaching.
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During the summer of 2020, we had over 550 attendees at these workshops and more than 95% of our full-time faculty attended at least one workshop.
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In an independent survey, 97% of our faculty felt ready to teach fully online at the start of the fall 2020 semester.
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Worked to create a new partnership with Acadeum, an online consortium with thousands of online courses.
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Created two new positions at the OEI department: executive director of online programs, senior instructional designer, and quality matters manager.
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Hired a new instructional technologist.
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Underwent intensive Quality Matters Professional Development:
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Quality Matter Coordinator Workshop
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Improving My Online Course Quality Matters Certification
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Applying the QM Rubric Certification
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Peer Reviewer Certification – (Official Quality Matters Certified Reviewer)
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Master Reviewer Certification
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Created extensive partnerships between faculty members and Quality Matters.
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Created Moravian Quality Online Standards based on the Quality Matters Rubric.
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Work collaboratively with the Deans to implement and sustain quality online education throughout the campus.
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Work collaboratively with the Chairs of the Departments of both schools to provide tailored Departmental Professional Development workshops.
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Created a Sample Online Course platform where faculty can examine successfully designed Moravian online faculty courses.
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Created a standard guide for college online design.
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Created Apple Professional Development Seminars.
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Created a comprehensive instructional resources site for faculty to continue to learn asynchronously how to teach online. Summer sessions were recorded and made available to faculty on this new resource site.
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Collaborated with the Dean of Student Success to create a resource site for students learning online.
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Created and embedded in all faculty Canvas sites Quality Matters General Standards 7 and 8 dealing with student technology support, academic support, institutional support, and accessibility.
Moravian University, Chair of the Philosophy Department (2008-2019)
As the chair of the philosophy department, I was charged with overseeing the philosophy curriculum, developing a vibrant, student-centered program, developing courses for the general education program, collaborating with interdisciplinary programs throughout the University, mentoring the philosophy faculty, and assuring the quality of teaching and scholarship of our instructors. We sustained a vibrant department of 20 to 30 undergraduate majors and minors. We offered a BA in philosophy, a minor in Philosophy, a minor in ethics, and a nan ethics certificate.
Selected Administrative Initiatives and Accomplishments
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Faculty Development: Secured a new tenure track Assistant Professor position for 2022.
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Conducted annual evaluations of all faculty.
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Completed Dr. Carol Moeller’s four-year evaluation for a tenured professor.
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Curriculum Development: In the fall of 2000, we revamped the philosophy curriculum to make it more relevant to our students. We created new stacked 200—and 300-level courses and a new Ethics Certificate Program.
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2019-2020, I created and directed the Humanities for the Professions Program and Grant.
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Since I became chair, we have gone from a 10-course curriculum to a 30-course curriculum.
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We created interdisciplinary courses and partnerships with other departments and programs throughout the College, including Public Health, Environmental Studies, Women's Studies, Biology, Business, Nursing, Rehabilitation Sciences, History, Medieval Studies, Religious Studies, Art, Music, Education, Sociology, Pre-Law, Neuroscience, and the Peace and Justice Program.
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We created a philosophy minor, an ethics minor, and a philosophy track for the adult and continuing education program
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Co-Curricular Activities:
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We created an undergraduate student philosophy conference (2010-present);
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a debate team (2010-present);
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a new chapter of Phi Sigma Tau (2010-present); and
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a study abroad program in Spain: Cross-Cultural Philosophies: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Southern Spain (2010-present).
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IV. Major Research Grants in the Humanities
2019-2020 Humanities for the Professions Grant ($15,000)
Generously funded by the Gladys Krieble Delmas Foundation, the Humanities for the Professions project is tasked with developing a model for creating interdisciplinary programs that embed an essential component of the humanities into professional curricula. Our model will focus on virtue ethics, an important part of classical Greek philosophy, and on three professional programs at Moravian College: Business and Economics, Nursing, and Rehabilitation Sciences. For more information, please visit our website. Also, please see “Applied Humanities: A 21st Century Solution” in Academic Leader for Department Chair, Deans, and Provosts, which explains more about the purpose and goals of the grant.
2014-2016 CIC Consortium for Online Humanities Instruction Grant ($800,000)
Two faculty members and one administrator from Moravian College participated in this online consortium grant. A total of twenty-one colleges and universities participated. We met over two years, and each faculty member designed an upper-level online humanities course. I worked on Metaethics, a 300-level capstone course for the ethics degree. We offered the course twice over two years. During this time, the consortium met to discuss the best practices for online teaching. For more information about this grant, please visit “Collaborating to Add Upper-Level Humanities Courses.”
2014-2016 NEH Enduring Questions: What is Peace? ($32,256)
What is Peace? On the surface, most undergraduate students probably feel confident in answering this question. They may respond that peace is simply an absence of conflict or war or feeling content and tranquil. Upon some reflection, they realize that these superficial responses generate even more questions. How do we define peace? Why is there so much violence? Why are there wars? Are all acts of violence wrong? What does your vision of peace look like? The NEH Grant for the proposed course What is Peace? addresses these questions and introduces undergraduate students to the complex notion of peace through its historical origins, the evolution of meaning, and relation to second-ordered concepts. The course critically guides students through a carefully selected core reading list that presents them with a pluralistic view of theories and practices of peace, diverse approaches to peace, and numerous perspectives and prospects for achieving peace.
2014 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Digital Pedagogy Course Development, Moravian College. Individual Stipend: ($2,300)
2006 NEH Summer Seminar Negotiating Identities in Art, Literature, and Philosophy:Cuban Americans and Cuban Culture ($2,400)
This grant focused on cultural, racial, and ethnic identity. We focused on Cuban American identity, examining and studying how cultural, geographical, and historical events influence identity. The Summer Seminar was held at the University of New York, Buffalo, NY. It was directed by Jorge J. E. Gracia, Lynette Bosch, and Isabel Alvarez-Borland. A product of this grant is the article "On the Metaphysics of Cultural Identity: A Darwinian Account" Latino Studies 7 (2) (2009): 167-196.
2005 NEH Faculty Research Award ($40,000)
The title of this project was “Peirce's Evolutionary Cosmology and the Naturalism vs. Theism Debate." This faculty Research Grant provided funds for my research on pragmatism and the philosophy of religion. A product of the investigations were the following publications: "Cognitive Faculties and Evolutionary Naturalism," American Catholic Philosophical Association Proceedings 80 (2006): 201-208; "Peirce on Science and Religion" International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 59 (2) (2006): 93-115; and "Ultimate Reality in the Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce: To Want to Learn the Truth" Ultimate Reality and Meaning, 29 (4) (2006): 229-243.
V. Awards and Visiting Fellows
2005 Visiting Fellow, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA. (Charles Sanders PeirceArchives)
2004 American Philosophical Association Prize in Latin American Thought
The paper's title was “Francisco De Vitoria's Just War/Intervention Theory. “It was delivered in a symposium at the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division in Boston, MA, on December 27-30, 2004. “The APA Committee on Hispanics sponsors the annual Essay Prize in Latin American Thought, awarded to the author of the best unpublished, English-language, philosophical essay in Latin American thought. The purpose of this prize is to encourage fruitful work in Latin American thought. Eligible essays must contain original arguments and broach philosophical topics related to the experiences of Hispanic Americans and Latinos/as. The winning essay will be published in the APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy.
2003 American Philosophical Association William James Prize
The paper’s title was “Overcoming the Evidentialist's Challenge: Peirce's Conjectures of Instinctive Reason and the Reality of God." The symposium paper was delivered at the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division in Washington, DC on December 27-30, 2003.“The Eastern Division awards the William James Prize to the best paper in the area of American philosophy that is both (a) written by a philosopher who received the Ph.D. within five years of the beginning of the calendar year in which the paper is submitted or is a graduate student, and (b) accepted for inclusion in the Eastern Division program by the program committee through the normal process of anonymous-reviewing.”
1994-1999 Graduate Research Assistantship, Department of Philosophy, University of Miami, Coral
Gables, Fl.
V. Selected Service
Selected College Committees
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Planning and Budget Committee, 2018-2020.
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Employee Recognition Committee 2018-2021.
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Online Task Force, Fall 2017
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Cohen Lecture Committee, 2016
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Elected member of the Dispute Resolution Group, 2016-2018
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Chair, General Education Committee 2013-2016.
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President’s Council Subcommittee: Leadership/Marketing/Communications Design Team, 2013.
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Grievance Committee-Elected Member, 2014-2015.
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Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC), 2009-2015.
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Faculty Executive Council, 2010-2013.
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Faculty Executive Council, Spring 2010.
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Faculty Research and Development Committee, 2008-2009, 2009-2010.
Evaluation Committees
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Chair of the evaluation committee for Dr. Khristina Haddad for full professor, Chair of Political Science, 2021-2022.
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Chair of the periodic evaluation committee for Dr. Carol Moeller, Philosophy, 2020-2021.
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Chair of the periodic evaluation committee for Dr. Naraghi, Philosophy, 2019-2020.
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Member of the fifth-year review committee for Dr. Yayoi, Political Science, 2019-2020.
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Member of the third-year mid-term review committee for Dr. Okpotor, Political Science, 2019-2020.
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Chair of the periodic evaluation committee for Dr. Carol Moeller, Philosophy, 2018-2019.
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Mentored Dr. Naraghi through the tenure process and promotion to Associate Professor.
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Mentored Dr. Moeller through promotion to Associate Professor.
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Co-Chair of the tenure and associate professor evaluation committee for Dr. Naraghi, Philosophy, 2014-2015.
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Chair of the evaluation committee for Dr. Denton-Borhaug, Chair of Religion Department, 2013.
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Member of the evaluation committee for tenure and promotion for Dr. Radine, Religion Department, 2013.
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Co-Chair of the midterm evaluation committee for Dr. Naraghi, Philosophy, 2012.
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Chair of the evaluation committee for Dr. Arash Naraghi, Philosophy, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013, 2013-2014.
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Chair of the evaluation committee for Dr. Moeller, Philosophy, 2008-2009, 2009-2010.
Search Committees
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Vice-President for Institutional Advancement Search Committee, 2018-2019.
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Marketing Assistant Professor Search Committee, Economics and Business Department, 2018-2019.
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Accounting Assistant Professor Search Committee, Economics and Business Department, 2016-2017.
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Dean for the School of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Search Committee, 2016-2017.
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Coordinator of Global Inclusion Search Committee, 2014-2015.
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Vice-President of Enrollment Committee Search Committee, 2012-2013.
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Vice-President for Institutional Advancement Search Committee, 2009-2010.
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Philosophy and Religion Search Committee, 2008-2009.
Student Organizations and Clubs
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Faculty Advisor to the Philosophy Club, 2008-2011.
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Founder of the Student Colloquium Series at Moravian College 2009-present.
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Co-founder of the Phi Sigma Tau Chapter at Moravian College, 2008.
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Coach of the Moravian Debate Team, 2009-2015 (made it to quarterfinals 2012-2015 and to nationals in 2015).
Service in the Profession
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Treasurer of the Associates for Philosophy of Religion (2017-Present)
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President of the Society for Philosophers of Religion, 2013-2014.
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Vice-President of the Society for Philosophers of Religion, 2012-2013.
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Editor of the APA Newsletter for Hispanic/Latino Philosophy, 2008-2013.
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APA Committee on Hispanics, 2001-2004, and 2005-2008.
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Elected to the Executive Council of the Society for Philosophers of Religion, 2008.
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Elected Executive Council of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 2007.
Membership in the Profession
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American Philosophical Association
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Society for Philosophy of Religion
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Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
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Society for Applied Ethics
Editorial Activities
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Reviewer for the International Journal of Philosophy of Religion.
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Reviewer for the Florida Philosophical Association
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Reviewer for Sophia
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Reviewer for Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society
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Reviewer for Notre Dame University Press
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Reviewer for Fordham University Press
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Reviewer for Choice
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Editor of the APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy (2008-2013)
External Reviews of Philosophy Departments and Faculty
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External Reviewer of the Muhlenberg College Philosophy Department (Team Leader), 2014.
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External Reviewer of East Stroudsburg University Philosophy Department, 2013.
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Outside Reviewer for Oxford College of Emory University 3-year Review Process for Faculty Member in the Humanities
Community Service
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Lion’s Club, Alpine Texas
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Alpine Chamber of Commerce
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Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of the Greater Lehigh Valley
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Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of East Stroudsburg
VI. Publications and Scholarship
Areas of Scholarly Specialization and Competency
American Pragmatism, Hispanic/Latino/s Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion, Spanish Renaissance Philosophy, and Ethics (Virtue Ethics, Applied, Ethics of Abortion, and Meta-ethics)
As a scholar, my research in American philosophy, philosophy of religion, Hispanic-Latino/a philosophy, medieval philosophy, and ethical studies has received international recognition. I was awarded the first American Philosophical Association Prize in Latin American Thought in 2004 and the American Philosophical Association William James Prize in 2005. I have received three external grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities to support my research and teaching. I edited the American Philosophical Association Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues. Moreover, I published over twenty articles on a wide range of philosophical topics in peer-reviewed journals and book chapters in prestigious publishers such as Oxford University Press, Cambridge University Press, Wiley-Blackwell Publishers, Cambridge Scholars, Brill Publishers, and Bloomsbury Publishers. Last year, I completed and published a book entitled A Critical Introduction to the Ethics of Abortion: Understanding the Moral Arguments. I’m currently working on two new manuscripts.
Books
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An Introduction to the Ethics of Abortion: Understanding the Moral Arguments. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2019.
Works Edited
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The Ethics of Abortion: New Arguments and New Insights to Old Arguments, Guest Editor of Philosophies’ Open Access Journal Special Issue, forthcoming 2021.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 12 (2) Spring 2013.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 12 (1) Fall 2012.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 11 (2) Spring 2012
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 11 (1) Fall 2011.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 10 (2) Spring 2011
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 10 (1) Fall 2010.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Volume 9 (2) Spring 2010.
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy: Special Issue on the Nomination of Sonia Sotomayor, Volume 9 (1) Fall 2009
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APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy: Special Topic on Hispanic and
American Philosophy, Volume 8 (2) Spring 2009.
11. APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy: Special Topic on Immigration,
Volume 8 (1) Fall 2008.
Articles, Book Chapters, and Encyclopedia Entries
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“Meinong and Suárez on Beings of Reason” Paradigmi XXXIX, 2/2021, 269-290,2021.
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“Applied Humanities: A 21st Century Solution” in Academic Leader for Department Chairs, Deans and Provosts, September 15, 2019. https://www.academic-leader.com/topics/curriculum-planning/applied-humanities-a-21st-century-solution/
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“Philosophy, Law, and Mysticism in Renaissance Spain” in A Companion to Spanish Renaissance. Edited by Hilaire Kallendorf, Brill Publishing 2018.
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“What is Philosophy of Religion?” http://philosophyofreligion.org/?p=23862, 2014.
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“Suárez’s Argument for the Existence of God” Interpreting Suárez: Critical Essays. Edited by Daniel Schwartz, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
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"Is Political Forgiveness Possible?" in Politics, Pluralism and Religion, Cambridge, England: Cambridge Scholars Press, 2010, 213-232.
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"Francisco de Vitoria and Bartolome de las Casas on the Rights of the American Indians" Blackwell Companion to Latin American Philosophy. Edited by Susana Nuccetelli, Ofelia Schutte, and Otavio Bueno. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing, 2010, 23-35.
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"Francisco Suárez." The History of Western Philosophy of Religion. Volume 3 Early Modern Philosophy. Edited by Graham Oppy and Nick Trakakis. Durham: Acumen Publishing Limited, 2009, 75-87.
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"On the Metaphysics of Cultural Identity: A Darwinian Account" Latino Studies 7 (2) (2009): 167-196.
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"Why Forgive: A Christian Response" Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 82 (2008): 217-228
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"Dewey's Pragmatism and Social-Political Philosophy: Comments on Rosa Mayorga’s ‘Hispanic Philosophy, American Pragmatism, and Cuba’” APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues: Special Topic on Hispanic and American Philosophy, Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2009.
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"Comments on Jaime Nubiola's "Charles Peirce and the Hispanic World" APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues: Special Topic on Hispanic and American Philosophy, Volume 7, Number 2, Spring 2009.
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"Forgiveness and its importance in Post-War Ethics" Journal of Religion, Disability and Health, 12 (3) (2008): 251-266.
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"Ultimate Reality in the Philosophy of Charles Sanders Peirce: To Want to Learn the Truth" Ultimate Reality and Meaning, 29 (4) (2006): 229-243.
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"Peirce on Science and Religion" International Journal for Philosophy of Religion 59 (2) (2006): 93-115.
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"Cognitive Faculties and Evolutionary Naturalism," American Catholic Philosophical Association Proceedings 80 (2006): 201-208.
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"Francisco de Vitoria's Just Intervention Theory and the Iraq War" APA Newsletter on Hispanic/Latino Issues in Philosophy, Vol. 4 (2) Spring 2005, 1-8.
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"Overcoming the Evidentialist's Challenge: Peirce's Conjectures of Instinctive Reason and the Reality of God" Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 40 (4) 2004: 771-786.
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"What kind of beings (entia) are beings of reason, and what kind of being (esse) do they have? Suárez on beings of reason" American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 77 (2003) 171-187.
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"Peirce and the Spontaneous Conjectures of Instinctive Reasoning" Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 76 (2002) 89-101.
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"Ultimate Reality in the Metaphysics of Francisco Suárez." Ultimate Reality and Meaning Vol. 25 (2) (2002): 73-92.
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"A Solution to the Problem of Personal Identity in the Metaphysics of St. Thomas." American Catholic Philosophical Association Proceedings Vol. 75 (2001): 121-134.
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"The Relationship Between God and Essences and the Notion of Eternal Truths According to Francisco Suárez." The Modern Schoolman Philosophical Quarterly Vol. 71(2) (2000): 127-143.
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"Suárez y Descartes sobre la noción de verdades eternas y su relación con Dios" Sapientia Vol. 55 (2000): 25-36.
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"The Interdependency Between Aquinas' Doctrine of Creation and The Principle of the Limitations of Act by Potency." American Catholic Philosophical Association Proceedings Vol. 74 (2000): 121-140.
Book Reviews
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Review of F. Thomas Burke, What Pragmatism Was for Choice, 2014.
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Review of Robert Schwartz, Rethinking Pragmatism: From William James to Contemporary Philosophy for Choice, 2013.
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Review of Jorge J. E. Gracia, Forging People: Race Ethnicity, and Nationality in Hispanic American and Latino/a Thought for Choice, 2012.
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Review of Alvin Plantinga and Michael Tooley, Knowledge of God for American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 84(3) (2010): 644-7.
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Review of Annuario filosofíco: pragmatismo hispanico for Transactions of the Charles S. Peirce Society 44(4) (2008): 739-47.
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Review of Ward, Roger. Conversion in American Philosophy for Transactions of the Charles Sanders Peirce Society 42 (2005): 444-50.
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Review of Dekker, Eef. Middle Knowledge for American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 78 (2004): 499-503.
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Review of Shanley, Brian J. O.P. The Thomist Tradition for Theological Studies 64 (2003): 205-6.
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Review of Deely, John. What Distinguishes Human Understanding? for The Review of Metaphysics 57 (2003): 145-8.
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Review of Flannery, Kevin, L. S.J. Acts Amid Precepts for Louvain Studies 28(2003): 384-93.
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Review of Griffiths, Paul J. Problems of Religious Diversity. Exploring the Philosophy of Religion, for Theological Studies 63 June (2002): 435.
VII. Presentations
Academic Presentation (From the most recent)
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“A Critique of Don Marquis’s Deprivation View for the Moral Wrongness of Abortion” 13th Annual Rocky Mountain Ethics Congress, August 2020.
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“On Suarez’s Various Kinds of Distinctions” American Catholic Philosophical Association, Minneapolis, MN, November 2019.
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“On the Relativism of Religious Beliefs” Society for Philosophers of Religion, The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina March 1, 2019. (59)
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“A Challenge to Anthony Kenny’s Identity Anti-Abortion Argument” Society for Applied Ethics, Ariënslaan 1, 3573 PT Utrecht, Netherlands, June 29 to July 1, 2018.
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“A New Model for Religious Experience” Society for Philosophers of Religion, New Orleans, LA, March 1, 2018.
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“A Critique of Anthony Kenny’s Anti-Abortion Identity Argument” 2017 Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association Conference at King’s College, Wilkes-Barre, PA on November 1, 2018.
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“On the Nature of Religious Assent” Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina March 1, 2017.
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“God and Created Persons: An Aristotelian Friendship Paradigm” Society for Philosophers of Religion, San Antonio, Texas, February 27, 2016
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A commentator on “The Doctrine of the Trinity Constitutes a Logical Contradiction or Mystery of Faith” Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina February 27, 2015.
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“Losing My Religion: A Pragmatist’s Responses to Religious Identity Crises.” Presidential Address, Society for Philosophers of Religion. Charleston, SC. February 28, 2014.
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“Beyond Putting in the Time”, Moravian College Faculty, March 26, 2013
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“A New Argument from Divine Hiddenness: Reasonable Lost Belief” Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association, Muhlenberg College, April 14, 2012.
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“A New Argument from Divine Hiddenness: Reasonable Lost Belief” Eastern Pennsylvania Philosophical Association, Muhlenberg College, April 14, 2012.
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“La Raza Cosmica,” Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA, November 29, 2011
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“Philosophical Debate: On the Hiddenness of God” Moravian College Debate, Bethlehem, PA November 10, 2011
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“What are the Philosophical Classics?” Friends of Reeves Library, Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA, October 18, 2011
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“A New Argument from Divine Hiddenness: Reasonable Lost Belief” was delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina, on February 27, 2011.
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“Comments on “Peirce’s Metaphysics of Objective Idealism,” delivered to the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Meeting), Boston, MA on December 29, 2010.
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“Comments on Bagley’s ‘Can God be Virtuous?’” delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California in February 2010.
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“Comments on Terrence Tilley's ‘Some Ontological Arguments,’” delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina on February 23, 2009.
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"Comments on Rosa Mayorga's ‘Hispanic Philosophy, American Pragmatism, and Cuba,'" delivered to the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Meeting), Philadelphia, PA on December 29, 2008
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"Comments on Jaime Nubiola's ‘Charles Peirce and the Hispanic World,’” delivered to the American Philosophical Association (Eastern Meeting), Philadelphia, PA on December 29, 2008
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"Why Forgive" was delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Omaha, Nebraska, on October 30- November 1, 2008.
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"Comments on Sam Harris' The End of Faith, delivered at Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA on October 28, 2008
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"Peirce's Early Logic, Metaphysics, and the Progress of Science" was delivered to the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy at Michigan State University, Michigan, on March 13-15, 2008.
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"Toward an Understanding of Forgiveness," delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at Wilmington, North Carolina on February 23, 2008.
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"Toward an Understanding of Forgiveness," delivered to the faculty of Niagara University, Niagara, NY, on February 25, 2008.
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"Philosophy and the Liberal Arts," delivered to the faculty of Moravian College, Bethlehem, PA on February 14, 2008
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“Philosophical Reflection on Cultural and Aesthetic Identity: The art of Alejandro Mendoza and Laura Luna," delivered at the 1st Annual Cuban Identity: Religion, Philosophy, and Visual Arts Conference at Barry University, Miami, FL. on March 22, 2007.
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"A Problem with the Theistic Doctrine Salvation: A Solution from Suárez's Doctrine of Eternal Truths," delivered to the faculty of Duquesne University, Pittsburg, PA, on March 2007
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"Evolution and Reliable Cognitive Faculties: A Reply to Plantinga's Argument against Naturalism" delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina on February 23, 2007.
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"Cognitive Faculties and Evolutionary Naturalism," delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Granville, Ohio, on October 27-29, 2006.
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"Peirce's Early Conception of Logic," delivered at the III Meeting on Pragmatism: Agency, Inference, and the Origins of Analytic Philosophy, University of Granada, Granada, Spain on April 19-21, 2006,
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"A Reply to Plantinga's Argument Against Naturalism," invited talk delivered to the faculty of the philosophy department at Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain on March 23, 2006.
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"A Prolegomena to Peirce's Philosophy of Religion," invited talk delivered to Seminarios del Grupo de Estudios Peirceanos, Universidad de Navarro, Pamplona, Spain, on February 15, 2006.
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"On the Relationship Between Science and Religion: A Prolegomenon to Peirce's Philosophy of Religion" was an invited talk delivered to the faculty members at Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School on April 20, 2005.
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"The Philosophy of Francisco Suárez" invited guest lecturer at Belen Jesuit Preparatory High School to the Seniors Honor Philosophy Class on April 8, 2005.
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"Is the Iraq War a Just War? Vitoria and the Iraq War" invited talk delivered to the Comité de Seminarios y Conferencias Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades at Saint Louis University, Avda. Del Valle, 23 - Padre Rubio Hall, Madrid, Spain on March 22, 2005.
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“Does Anyone Merit Salvation? Does Anyone Merit Salvation More than Anyone Else?” delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at The Hilton Head, Hilton Head, South Carolina, on February 25, 2005.
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"Francisco de Vitoria's Just Intervention Theory and the Iraq War" (winner of the Prize in Latin American Thought) symposium paper delivered to the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division in Boston, M.A. on December 27-30, 2004.
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"An analysis of Hamer's The God Gene: The consequences of a God Gene for the Existence of God," delivered to The Dominican Saints Speak to Your Issues Colloquium, Miami, FL on November 15, 2004.
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"Faith and Science in Dialog: A Continuation," delivered at the Barry University Faculty Scholars Day, Miami, FL, on November 10, 2004.
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"Francisco de Vitoria's Just Intervention Theory and the Iraq War," delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Miami, FL, on November 5-7, 2004.
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"Is Scientific Inquiry Compatible with Religious Belief?" delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at the Radisson Admiral Semmes Hotel in Mobile, AL on March 4-6, 2004.
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"Peirce's Scientific Spirit and the Highest Maxim of Logic: On the incompatibility between Philosophy and Christianity," delivered to the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy at Birmingham-Southern College on March 4-6, 2004. Commentator: Lawrence Cahoone, College of Holy Cross.
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“Comments on ‘Defending God's Strong Conservation’" by Louis A. Mancha, Jr. Ashland University to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Houston, TX on October 31 - November 2, 2003.
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"Peirce's Conjectures of Instinctive Reason and the Reality of God: Overcoming the Evidentialist's Challenge," delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion at the Hilton Head, Hilton Head, SC on February 28 -March 2, 2003. Commentator: Forrest Wood, University of Southern Mississippi.
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"Ultimate Reality in The Philosophy of C.S. Peirce: To Want to Know the Truth,” delivered to the International Society for the Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning at the University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada on August 13-16, 2003. Commentator: Professor Noel Boulting, Kent, England
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"Overcoming the Evidentialist's Challenge: Peirce's Conjectures of Instinctive Reason and the Reality of God," delivered at the University of Miami Colloquium Series to the Philosophy Department, Coral Gable, Fl. on September 12, 2003.
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"On Scientific Inquiry and Religious Belief," C. S. Lewis National Faculty Forum (Free Speech: Academic Freedom and Religious Expression) at University of California at Berkeley, Berkeley, CA. on October 11, 2003 (Paper was accepted but never delivered in person).
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"Overcoming the Evidentialist's Challenge: Peirce's Conjectures of Instinctive Reason and the Reality of God" (winner of the William James Prize) symposium paper delivered to the American Philosophical Association Eastern Division in Washington D.C. on December 27- 30, 2003.
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"Is it Rational to Believe in God?" delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at Messiah College, Grantham, Pennsylvania, on November 14-16, 2002.
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"Peirce and the Spontaneous Conjectures of Instinctive Reasoning," delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Cincinnati, OH on November 1-3, 2002.
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"Catholic-Christian Perspective on War," delivered at the War and Peacemaking: A Religious Perspective from Christianity, Judaism, and Islam Conference at the University of Miami, Miami, FL on March 21, 2002.
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"What Does it Mean to Be A Christian?" delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophy at Bethel College, St. Paul, MN on March 7-9, 2002
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“What Does It Mean to Be a Christian? An Experiment in Christian Pragmatism” delivered to the Society for Philosophers of Religion, Savannah, A, in February 2002.
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"A Solution to the Problem of Personal Identity in the Metaphysics of Thomas Aquinas," delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association in Albany, NY, on November 9-11, 2001. Commentator: Fulvio di Blasi, University of Notre Dame
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"Comments on Michael J. Lapierre's ‘Gabriel Vasquez's Idea of Ultimate Reality and Meaning'," delivered to the International Society for the Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning at University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada on August 15-18, 2001
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"Ultimate Reality in the Metaphysics of Francisco Suárez," delivered to the International Society for the Study of Human Ideas on Ultimate Reality and Meaning at University College, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON Canada on August 15-18, 2001Commentators: Fiore Mester, Toronto, ON Canada and Michael J. Lapierre, Regis College, Toronto, ON Canada.
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"A Gracian and Stumpian Solution to the Problem of Personal Identity in the Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas," delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at St. John Fisher College, Rochester, NY on March 1-3, 2001
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"The Interdependency between Aquinas' Doctrine of Creation and His Metaphysical Principle of the Limitations of Act by Potency," delivered to the American Catholic Philosophical Association at the University of Dallas, Dallas, TX on November 3-5, 2000.
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"Problems with Aquinas' and Suárez's Conception of the Soul" delivered to the Comité de Seminarios y Conferencias Facultad de Ciencias Sociales y Humanidades at Saint Louis University, Avda. Del Valle, 23 - Padre Rubio Hall, Madrid, Spain on June 14, 2000.
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"Aquinas and Suárez on the Soul," delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC on May 11-13, 2000.
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"Aquinas and Suárez on the Soul and Body," delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, CA on March 25-27, 2000.
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"The Interdependency between Aquinas' Theological Doctrine of Creation and The Principle of the Limitations of Act by Potency," delivered at the Fides and Ratio 2nd Annual Conference at St. John Vianney College Seminary, Miami, FL on February 25, 2000.
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"Suárez versus Descartes: On the Relationship between Eternal Truths and God," delivered to the Florida Philosophical Association at the University of Miami, Miami, FL on November 11-13, 1999.
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"La Noción de Necesidad y Verdades Eternas Según Suárez," delivered to the Jacque Maritain Society in Miami, FL on July 18, 1999.
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"The Morality of the Social Means of Communication," delivered at Pax Institute's Annual Communication Conferences at the Radisson Mart Plaza, Miami, FL, on August 7, 1999.
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"Eternal Essences and God: According to Suárez," delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI on March 25-27, 1999.
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"What Beliefs are Morally Good, Epistemically Correct and Right," delivered to the Society of Christian Philosophers at Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ on March 12-14, 1998.
VIII. Teaching Experience
I have taught over 60 online courses.
Courses Taught
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100-level
Introduction to Philosophy
Introduction to Logic: Critical Thinking
Introduction to the Ethics of Abortion
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200-level
Advanced Logic
Medieval Philosophy
Early Modern Philosophy
American Pragmatism
Latin American Philosophy
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Medieval Spain (travel course)
Religious Experience and Divine Hiddenness (travel course)
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200-level -Ethics
Ethics
Applied Ethics
Ethics Bowl
Medical Ethics
Ethics for the Public’s Health
Environmental Ethics
Sport Ethics
Advanced Topics in the Ethics of Abortion
Virtue Ethics
Aristotle on Friendship (half credit)
Ethics Issues in Human Genetics (half credit)
Personhood and the Ethics of Abortion (half credit)
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300 Level Advanced
Metaphysics
Meta-Ethics
Online and Hybrid Courses
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Introduction to Philosophy (2012)
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Ethics (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016)
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Meta-Ethics (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)
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Advanced Topics in the Ethics of Abortion (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
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Personhood and the Ethics of Abortion-Winter (2014, 2015, 2016)
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Sports Ethics (2015, 2017)
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Virtue Ethics (2016, 2017)
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Ethics for the Public’s Health-Hybrid (2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017)
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American Pragmatism Hybrid-Hybrid (2016)
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Judaism, Islam, and Christianity in Medieval Spain-Hybrid (20010-2017)
Senior Thesis, Independent Studies, and Advisee to Student Scholarly Presentation
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Alicia Wallace, “The Flaws of Error Theory, Scholars Day, 2018.
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Taylor LaValva, Peter Railton's Instrumental Theory of Rationality, 2016
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Nicole L. Metzger, The Abortion Controversy: A Feminist-Particularist Perspective, 2016
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Lily DiMattia From Non-Moral Normativity to Moral Normativity, 2016
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Elaine Horan John Mackie's Error Theory, 2016
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Samantha Keenan, Symbolic Logic, 2016.
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Libario Obeid, Ethics of Abortion, 2015.
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Armando Chapelliquen, Justice: From Theory to Action, 2011-12
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Joe Munley, An Economic Evaluation of the Close in Major League Baseball, 2010.
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Maggie Riegel Make Love to the Paradox: An Existential Musing of Notes from the Underground, 2009.
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Petro Torenta, Peirce's Argument for the Reality of God, 2004
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Leigh Ruffino, Peirce's Categories, 2002