Diversity

I want to emphasize my support for institutions that value diversity. I have worked to make the graduate student population and staff more gender balanced and more ethnically balanced at each place I have worked. Moreover, there is a tremendous range of social, religious, and ethnic backgrounds for students in the undergraduate classes I have taught over the years. I have chosen readings for classes, speakers for conferences, and students for admission with a strong eye toward gender and ethnic balance, and I encourage others to do so as well.

 

As Director of the Arché Philosophical Research Centre at the University of St Andrews, I directed the centre to offer financial and administrative support to the new St Andrews Institute for Gender Studies, which was founded in 2018. In addition, I supported a new reading group on Feminism and Social Philosophy, which became an official Arché Seminar in Autumn 2021. Moreover, I taught a session of the MLitt core seminar in Gender Studies on amelioration in the work of Sally Haslanger (not as part of my regular teaching duties). Finally, I offered financial and administrative support to our local chapter of Minorities and Philosophy (MAP) for the 2020-2021 academic year with the intention of making it recurring annual support.

 

I have also fought tirelessly to insure that applicants from underrepresented groups are given a fair assessment in hiring. This often involves suggesting alternative standards for assessment regarding gaps on a CV or publishing while under a heavy teaching load.

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In sum, I care deeply about making philosophy accessible and exciting to a diverse group of students and about helping philosophy departments include a diverse range of instructors and graduate students.