Deep thoughts, deep problems?
A look at UIC's Philosophy Department
Gregory Royal Pratt
Issue date: 11/16/09 Section: News
Media Credit: The Jewel CityLike The Thinker, pictured above, the Philosophy department had a lot to think about when it came to tightening their budget.
Philosophy is a key component of any liberal arts education. The Philosophy Department at UIC happens to be one of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' strongest.
"Someone very interested in the subject can get a very good education here," says Dr. Peter Hylton, Head of the Philosophy Department. Beyond the introductory level and especially at the 400 level, "it's pretty much only majors or someone who's majoring in something else but has studied philosophy [taking the course]. Those are often very good classes. [That is] very helpful in a subject where a lot of interaction and discussion is a large part of it. I think it's a very good program."
One of the curiosities of public higher education is that when an institution or a department is strong, it becomes a challenge to remain strong.
This curiosity "chiefly has to do with making sure people don't leave. Historically, over the long term, it's been a place that many extremely good people have been and left. When I came, seventeen years ago, the department was sort of in the middle of one of those phases where everybody seemed to be leaving. We hired a lot of very good people, almost all of whom are still here. But it's always a worry that people will leave for places that can pay them more, in various ways offer more attractive working conditions."
That is not to discount UIC's attractions as an institution. Just being in the city of Chicago is a major positive, and the support that many researchers receive around the university is another. In addition, the Philosophy Department is lucky to be a place where "for the most part [our faculty members] like each other. It's a group that gets on very well, which is not, you probably already figured this out, universal."
The department has 16 professors. LAS told them that their target number is 18. "We of course think it should be larger," says Dr. Hylton. "I suppose every department thinks that."
Asked what his department could do with eighteen or more professors instead of 16, Dr. Hylton says: "One is just to teach the undergraduate courses. We are teaching them at the moment but we're using more graduate students and adjuncts teaching 200 level courses and large 100 level courses. We're doing that more than in the past and more than we would like. It's also true that having a wider range of options [would be good], especially for teaching graduate students, which is a very important part of what we do."
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"Someone very interested in the subject can get a very good education here," says Dr. Peter Hylton, Head of the Philosophy Department. Beyond the introductory level and especially at the 400 level, "it's pretty much only majors or someone who's majoring in something else but has studied philosophy [taking the course]. Those are often very good classes. [That is] very helpful in a subject where a lot of interaction and discussion is a large part of it. I think it's a very good program."
One of the curiosities of public higher education is that when an institution or a department is strong, it becomes a challenge to remain strong.
This curiosity "chiefly has to do with making sure people don't leave. Historically, over the long term, it's been a place that many extremely good people have been and left. When I came, seventeen years ago, the department was sort of in the middle of one of those phases where everybody seemed to be leaving. We hired a lot of very good people, almost all of whom are still here. But it's always a worry that people will leave for places that can pay them more, in various ways offer more attractive working conditions."
That is not to discount UIC's attractions as an institution. Just being in the city of Chicago is a major positive, and the support that many researchers receive around the university is another. In addition, the Philosophy Department is lucky to be a place where "for the most part [our faculty members] like each other. It's a group that gets on very well, which is not, you probably already figured this out, universal."
The department has 16 professors. LAS told them that their target number is 18. "We of course think it should be larger," says Dr. Hylton. "I suppose every department thinks that."
Asked what his department could do with eighteen or more professors instead of 16, Dr. Hylton says: "One is just to teach the undergraduate courses. We are teaching them at the moment but we're using more graduate students and adjuncts teaching 200 level courses and large 100 level courses. We're doing that more than in the past and more than we would like. It's also true that having a wider range of options [would be good], especially for teaching graduate students, which is a very important part of what we do."
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