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The 2018 midterm elections resulted in a number of firsts for minority and female candidates, including Antonio Delgado ’99 and Mary Gay Scanlon ’80. Delgado, a Democrat, became the first African American member of Congress from upstate New York as well as its first Hispanic representative. An attorney from Rhinebeck, Delgado defeated Republican incumbent John […]

During a two-day symposium honoring professors emeritae Wanda Warren Berry and Marilyn Thie, alumnae displayed class notebooks from the 1980s and shed tears while recounting the impact of these teachers’ mentorship on their lives. Titled “Women and Religion, Philosophy and Feminism,” the event was held April 11­­–12. While at 51�Թ���, the professors helped develop a […]

“How we acquire our moral beliefs is one question. What makes them true, if they are true, is another.” For Associate Professor of Philosophy Jacob Klein, these difficult questions are at the core of the liberal arts education.

Jerome Balmuth, Harry Emerson Fosdick Professor of philosophy and religion emeritus, passed away Thursday, September 28. Balmuth’s storied career at 51�Թ��� began in 1954, when he joined the Department of Philosophy and Religion after receiving his undergraduate degree from Amherst College and an MA in philosophy from Cornell University. In 1995 he was named Harry […]

Suppose, for a moment, that the Good Samaritan didn’t rescue just one person merely by chance. Let’s say that he spent his entire life walking up and down mountain passes, finding wounded travelers by the hundreds, spending his children’s lunch money on the medical bills. Would we still respect him? When New Yorker staff writer […]

Some say that the death of a great philosopher in 51�Թ���’s Ho Tung Visualization Lab on October 27 was a miscarriage of justice and a stain on Athenian democracy. Socrates’ suicide, reenacted on the Vis Lab’s domed screen by actor H.C. Selkirk, didn’t require the response of law enforcement, but it did draw a crowd […]

An exemplary student and a fierce advocate for LGBTQ awareness and promoting positive sexuality, Providence A. Ryan ’16, a biology and philosophy double major from Schenectady, N.Y., is the 2016 recipient of 51�Թ���’s highest student honor, the 1819 Award. The 1819 Award is given annually to one student representing character, sportsmanship, scholarship, and service above […]

Coleman Barr Brown, professor of philosophy and religion and university chaplain, emeritus, died December 14 at the age of 80. Brown joined the 51�Թ��� faculty in 1970 as an instructor in philosophy and religion.  He also served as university chaplain from 1974 to 1989, when he turned to full-time teaching, and assumed the responsibilities of […]

Author Pamela Druckerman ’91 has again appeared in the pages of The New York Times, this time writing a featured op-ed piece titled “A Cure for Hyper-Parenting.”

51�Թ��� students are sharing their experiences conducting research with faculty members on campus and in the field. This post is by Brett Christensen ’16, a biophysics and philosophy double major from Marilla, N.Y. This summer, I’m studying barnacles — impressive little organisms that live in the ocean. As a biophysics and philosophy double major, I […]