Candidates’ Statements: 2016
The 2016 election for positions on
the AAPT Board of Directors is underway.
AAPT members have received an email explaining the
ballot process and providing a link to the ballot.
The candidate statements are below.
The polls close October 31, 2016.
Candidate Statement for Vice-President
Scott McElreath
William Peace University
I am an Associate Professor of Philosophy at a small liberal arts university. I have worked on committees with people from all parts of my campus community. I value consensus, clear communication, diverse opinions, establishing and following protocol, good-spirited dialogue, and practical solutions. I facilitated workshops at seven AAPT workshop/conferences and was on the program committee for six of them. For the last four years, I have served as an AAPT board member, and, in that capacity, I chaired the Speakers and Awards Committee, served on the Lennsen Prize Committee and on the Publications Committee, organized a session at an APA Division meeting, and worked as an editorial board member for our journal, AAPT Studies in Pedagogy. As Vice President, I would bring continued dedication to the AAPT, over 14 years of active participation with the AAPT workshop/conference, and values that correspond with healthy and productive collaboration.
If I were elected Vice President, I would specifically aim to:
- continue and build on our current successes such as the biennial conference/workshop, the graduate student seminar, regional teaching workshops, our presence at APA Division Meetings, and our new journal
- provide continuity and support as the AAPT transitions from one amazing Executive Director, Emily Esch, to another one
- create a statement on the ethical treatment of students and of teachers
- create an easy and a satisfying pathway for donations to the AAPT
- expand the reach and leadership roles of the AAPT by considering the feasibility of, among other things, adding a membership committee (to increase membership), a diversity committee (to encourage the diversity of philosophy teachers and of the philosophers we teach), and—thinking further into the future—a national office
Jennifer Wilson Mulnix
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
I joined the AAPT as a graduate student participant in 2004. I have been a member-at-large since 2012, actively contributing to board decisions, organizing AAPT sessions at APA meetings, and serving on many different committees. As part of my work chairing the Awards Committee, we developed a new grant program for members to support the implementation of projects involving innovations to teaching. I recently served a three-year term on the APA Committee on Teaching Philosophy and have administrative experience from running my University’s Honors Program for four years. Much of my research is in the scholarship of teaching and learning and I have published articles in Teaching Philosophy, Educational Philosophy and Theory, and the AAPT volume Philosophy Through Teaching. I am always looking for ways to enhance my teaching and I try to think carefully about the best ways to optimize the educational experience for my students, focusing in particular on experiential learning. All of these activities represent my commitment to teaching and to the students and communities I serve. Should I be elected Vice President, my skillset, dedication, and experience in the AAPT will allow me to continue to build on the great work we have already accomplished and to engage collaboratively with the board and our members on finding innovative ways to expand on this success. Specifically, I would like to enrich our partnerships with other organizations like the APA and PLATO, continue to develop new initiatives like the grant program aimed to promote reflective teaching, expand our regional pedagogy workshops and explore other avenues to enlarge the reach of our organization. The AAPT is an invaluable community that I treasure and I would very much appreciate the opportunity to serve as your Vice President.
Candidate Statements for Member-At-Large
Patrick Clipsham
Winona State University
I am an Assistant Professor at Winona State University (a teaching intensive 4-year Liberal Arts College). Much of my committee work at WSU (as chair of the Feminist Issues Committee and as faculty senator) focuses on diversity and inclusivity. Participating in the AAPT Seminar on Teaching and Learning in 2014 motivated me to reflect on inclusivity in my teaching practice. At the 2016 AAPT workshop-conference, I presented on how active pedagogical techniques create inclusive classrooms. I want to serve as a member of the AAPT’s Board of Directors because I believe that our profession needs to confront the challenges associated with diversity and inclusiveness in academic philosophy. I believe that encouraging philosophy teachers to think closely about their own pedagogies is crucial for creating a more inclusive professional environment. I would be honored to have the opportunity to work towards these goals as a member of the Board of Directors.
David Concepción
Ball State University
I’ve been on the AAPT board since 2005, including a stint as VP/Pres/Past-Pres. I want to continue to serve so that I can help us grow the regional one-day workshops. Also, I think I might be useful as institutional memory. I am immensely grateful for what the AAPT has given me, and I need to give back.
I am recipient of the AAPT Lenssen Prize and Award of Merit, co-designer of our T&L seminars, member of the APA Committee on Teaching and of the editorial boards of Teaching Philosophy, College Teaching, and Studies in Pedagogy. I have facilitated the summer seminar four times, led the facilitator training seminar, led one-day workshops six times, and presented ten times at AAPT conferences. I have been coordinator of APA sessions, program chair, Lenssen Prize and nominating committee member, conference review committee member, and performed many ad hoc tasks for the AAPT.
Christina Hendricks
University of British Columbia
I have been a member of AAPT since 2010, and in 2014 I was thrilled to be elected to serve on the Board. Ever since my first AAPT meeting I have looked forward every two years to our workshops, and I ran for the Board because I wanted to give more time to this organization that encourages and supports effective teaching in multiple ways. I am running for the Board again because I value the work of the AAPT so much I want to continue to contribute to it.
During the last two years on the AAPT Board I have been on the Awards Committee, have organized AAPT sessions at the Pacific APA meetings, and have been Chair of the Teaching and Learning (T&L) Committee. The T&L Committee is in charge of planning the teaching and learning graduate seminar at our biannual conference, as well as one-day teaching and learning workshops that are held in various parts of North America. Beyond the AAPT, at my home institution I am in a tenured, teaching position that requires scholarly teaching and rewards the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, which forms the basis of my research program.
J. Robert Loftis
Lorain County Community College
I am currently finishing my first two year term on the AAPT board, during which I served on the publications committee and the awards committee, organized the AAPT session at the Central APA, and co-organized the drop-in consultation session at the upcoming Eastern APA. However, the accomplishment I’m most proud of this term is co-editing the second volume of AAPT Studies in Pedagogy, on teaching Plato, which will be out early next year. I first became involved with the AAPT when I participated in the graduate student seminar in 1998. In 2010 I started serving on the Nominations and Elections committee, and I have been chair since 2012.
A major reason I would like to continue to serve on the Board is to represent the interests of teachers at community colleges and two year institutions. Community college teachers have larger loads with more diverse and underprepared students. It is important for the AAPT programs that will support us.
Russell Marcus
Hamilton College
I have been a committed member of the AAPT since stumbling on the organization in 2008. I was program chair or co-chair for three workshop-conferences, preparing a detailed guide to organizing; reaching out to diverse nearby institutions; and institutionalizing a post-conference survey. As a member of the AAPT Board, I would like to continue our work with graduate training, to develop more effective ways for teachers to share resources, and to raise the profile of our organization while remaining faithful to our core constituency.
I started my career as a public high school mathematics teacher, teaching high school for five years before graduate school at CUNY. During graduate school, I taught community college mathematics before switching to philosophy, barely earning a living wage as an adjunct at various colleges. Eventually, I landed at Hamilton College, where I am now an associate professor.
Scott McElreath
William Peace University
I am an Associate Professor of Philosophy at a small liberal arts university. I have worked on committees with people from all parts of my campus community. I value consensus, clear communication, diverse opinions, establishing and following protocol, good-spirited dialogue, and practical solutions. I facilitated workshops at seven AAPT workshop/conferences and was on the program committee for six of them. For the last four years, I have served as an AAPT board member, and, in that capacity, I chaired the Speakers and Awards Committee, served on the Lennsen Prize Committee and on the Publications Committee, organized a session at an APA Division meeting, and worked as an editorial board member for our journal, AAPT Studies in Pedagogy. As a board member, I would bring continued dedication to the AAPT, over 14 years of active participation with the AAPT workshop/conference, and values that correspond with healthy and productive collaboration.
Jennifer Wilson Mulnix
University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth
I have been an active member of AAPT since 2004, starting in the Graduate Student Seminar and now as a regular conference presenter. I have been a member-at-large since 2012, actively participating and contributing to board discussions and decisions, and serving on many different committees. As part of my work now chairing the Awards Committee, we created a grant program for members to support the implementation of projects involving innovations to teaching. I would like to focus on further developing new initiatives like this to promote reflective teaching along with working to enrich our partnerships with other organizations and to expand our regional workshops and organizational outreach. I have truly enjoyed serving the AAPT and would very much like to continue serving in some capacity. I am also running for Vice President, but should I not be elected, I would appreciate the opportunity to continue as a member-at-large.
Rebecca Scott
Elon University/Loyola University Chicago
My involvement with the AAPT began in 2012 when I was a presenter at the conference and a participant in the graduate seminar. I was immediately excited not only by the opportunity to think and talk about pedagogy with other philosophers who care deeply about teaching, but also by the warm and supportive nature of the organization. As a result I continued to seek out ways to be involved with the AAPT, and in 2014 I was elected to be a member-at-large on the board. As a board member, I have served on the Teaching and Learning committee and the Program committee. As a part of my work on the teaching and learning committee, I co-facilitated a workshop at the University of Western Ontario on inclusive pedagogy. I am (still) finishing my never-ending dissertation at Loyola University Chicago on Levinasian pedagogy and am working as a full time philosophy instructor at Elon University for the 2016-2017 school year. The AAPT has been immeasurably influential on my work both as a teacher and as a philosopher and I would love to continue to serve as a board member.
Renée Smith
Coastal Carolina University
My professional life has been focused on teaching and learning. I have published seven teaching-related papers and given over a dozen teaching-related conference presentations—including 6 presentations at AAPT conferences. I have developed new courses, attended workshops, and read broadly about teaching and learning. I serve as an instructional coach providing observations and mentoring to faculty. I have completed certifications for distance learning and instructional coaching.
I have served on two APA committees—the Computers and Philosophy committee and the Committee for Pre-College Instruction in Philosophy. For these committees, I organized several panels for APA meetings. I have also held leadership roles in a number of elected positions at my university.
I look forward to the opportunity to serve this community of philosophy teachers, and I would especially like to become involved in mentoring new philosophy teachers.
Wendy C. Turgeon
St. Joseph’s College
I am a Professor of Philosophy at St. Joseph’s College in New York. I serve on the board of PLATO, the organization for pre-college philosophy. I have also had the pleasure of co-leading workshops held in conjunction with AAPT conferences for high school teachers interested in introducing philosophy into their curriculum. In the past, I have also served on the APA Committee for the Teaching of Philosophy.
The AAPT conferences have been enormously rewarding in terms of helping me achieve my ongoing goal of becoming a better teacher and I have been an attendee and, several times, a presenter at four recent conferences. I have also volunteered to read submissions for a couple of them. I appreciate the talent and creativity that the leadership of the organization dedicates to encouraging thoughtful pedagogy through conferences, sponsored panels at APA meetings, and a lively website presence. I would like to contribute as a board member to our shared goals.
Andrew M. Winters
Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania
Although I have been an AAPT member since 2012, my active involvement with AAPT began in 2014, when I was a participant in the Graduate Student Seminar and presented at the AAPT Workshop-Conference. Since then, I have continued to present at the AAPT Workshop-Conference, have served on the Nominations and Elections committee, have completed the AAPT Teacher Facilitator Workshop training, and published in the AAPT journal Studies in Pedagogy.
I am running for the Member-At-Large position to represent recent PhD graduates and adjunct / temporary faculty. The pressures of being on the job market each year and not having guaranteed long-term employment pose specific challenges to being an effective pedagogue. I hope that my involvement will create more opportunities for AAPT members in similar positions to receive guidance and assistance with balancing the needs of effective teaching and ensuring marketability.
