UNLV Philosophy Department prevails

Readers of this blog will recall the letter I sent to UNLV president, Neal Smatresk, in which I make a case for the centrality of philosophy in any university’s curriculum, and for that reason UNLV should change its plan to eliminate its philosophy department. (See also the outstanding essay published on April 6 in the Boston Review and authored by my former UNLV colleague, and present chair of UNLV’s philosophy department, Todd Jones). I am happy to report that the efforts of many, including Professor Jones, have succeeded. The UNLV philosophy department will not be cut.  (For the record, 14 years ago Professor Jones and I co-edited a book together, Affirmative Action: Social Justice or Reverse Discrimination? [Prometheus, 1997].  Because we hold contrary views on the issue, the book is a fair-minded and balanced collection.)