Joseph “Cody” Weaver and Danielle Karim Cox have temporarily joined the philosophy department.
Dr. Scott Davidson and Dr. Nathan Ross have left the university, and have been replaced on staff. Weaver is a one-year visiting professor, and Karim Cox is an adjunct professor.
Dr. Mark Davies, philosophy professor and director of The World House Institute for Social and Ecological Responsibility, said there are less classes in the philosophy department this semester due to the changes in staff.
“We have a few fewer courses,” Davies said. “But not enough that we weren’t able to cover the students that needed to be covered for those general education courses. For example, the courses that I teach that typically have 25, I’ve let them go to 30 students.”
Dr. Helen Gaudin, associate dean of arts and sciences, said Scott Davidson left for a job at West Virginia University.
“His wife got an exceptional job opportunity in West Virginia,” said Gaudin. “And then that university gave him an excellent offer as well, so they relocated the family out there.”
Davies said Karim Cox was hired to cover Davidson’s workload. Ross left after beginning the process to find Karim Cox, said Gaudin. Davies said Ross went to Long Island to work.
“His wife lived in another state, and they’ve been living many states apart for many years, so he found a job where she was,” said Gaudin.
“When Dr. Ross left, the university decided we’d better replace that position,” Davies said. “It was too late for us to do a national search, to have a full-time tenure track position, so we did a search for a one year visiting professor.”
Gaudin said they received dozens of applications for the one-year visiting professor contract which went to Weaver, who Davies said is finishing his dissertation this year at the University of Oklahoma.
“For Joseph Weaver, we actually put out an ad through our human resources office, that we had a one year visiting position open,” Davies said. “We had a number of applicants. We had a committee that looked at those applicants and decided that we would interview a smaller group. After the interviews, he was the person who we selected.”
Davies said the committee was chaired by Gaudin and Dr. Mohamed Daadaoui, professor and chair of political science.
“Cody is, right now, getting his dissertation, so he knows what the philosophy world is doing right now and the current academic climate,” said Olivia Click, philosophy junior. “That’ll help us philosophy students when we’re wondering where to go and what scholarly things are being published, and how that can help us when we’re getting our masters and our Ph.Ds.”
Davies said Weaver is teaching History of Philosophy I and two sections of Business Ethics, and Karim Cox is teaching Symbolic Language and Introduction to Moral and Social Philosophy.
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