WHAT ALUMNI SAY

 

John Brenke (M.A. ’93) is the manager of Strategic Planning at Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Division and an adjunct professor of management at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. He is also a newly appointed member of the Ocean Springs School District Board of Trustees. With regard to his training in philosophy, John says he is “always grateful.”

Jason Busch (M.A. ’03) is now in law school at the University of Oregon and is flourishing.

Bennie Crockett (M.A. ’93) received his Ph.D. from the University of Wales in ’01 and in the same year published a book of past presidential addresses of the Mississippi Philosophical Association. He currently works at William Carey College in Hattiesburg, where he is professor of philosophy and religion, co-director of the Center for Study of the Life and Work of William Carey, and vice-president of Institutional Effectiveness and Planning. As to the value of studying philosophy, Bennie writes that, “Philosophy has brought a coherence to the varied courses I teach and tasks I do. Being able to contextualize thoughts into their proper origin has helped to provide some order and meaning for the problems of contemporary intellectual fragmentation and cultural chaos.”

Robert Hensley (M.A. ’99): Robert graduated (with honors) in ’02 from the University of North Carolina School of Law, and after clerking for the Hon. David Bramlette III, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, is now in Durham, N. C. as an associate attorney in the labor and employment group at Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP.

Andrea Houchard (M.A. ‘01): Andrea is completing her Ph.D. in philosophy at Tulane, and is currently teaching at Ohio State University. Her dissertation is in bioethics; specifically, on patient autonomy and public justification.

Todd Long (M.A. ’95): Todd graduated with a Ph.D. in philosophy from the University of Rochester in ’03, and has recently accepted a tenure-track position at California Polytechnic after serving as a postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Philosophy of Religion at the University of Notre Dame. His expertise is in epistemology, and he already has several publications to his credit.

Mark Lumpkin (B.A. ’80) practices law for Lumpkin and Reeves in Biloxi. Their firm specializes in representing individuals in cases against corporations, such as cases involving securities fraud and product liability. Mark writes that his training in philosophy and logic “provided a strong framework for analysis of issues,” and that the reading and writing that are required in a philosophy discipline have been invaluable. “It provided a basis for creating cohesive, persuasive and rational arguments, something that I use daily.”

Ben Maddox (M.A. ’03) owns and manages a coffee bar and CD/DVD store in St. Albans, Vt., and he and his wife are expecting their first child.

Leemon McHenry (M.A. ’80) went on to receive his Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and joined the philosophy department at Cal-State Northridge as a lecturer in 1997. He also does research consulting for the Baum-Hedlund law firm in Los Angeles, which led him to develop an interest in bioethics, particularly ethical issues in psychiatry and psychopharmacology. Dr. McHenry has published extensively in philosophy. He wrote Whitehead and Bradley: A Comparative Analysis, published by SUNY Press. He co-edited three volumes in the Dictionary of Literary Biography series for Gale and Reflections on Philosophy: Introductory Essays, the 2nd edition of which was published by Longman. In addition, Leemon has published numerous book chapters, articles and reviews. See his Web page at http://www.csun.edu/~lmchenry/.

Susan Mullican (M.A. ’87) currently teaches several classes for us, both in Hattiesburg and on the Coast. She regularly teaches business ethics and is currently working on a paper about business’ differential treatment of single and married employees. Regarding teaching business ethics, she says, “Philosophy is necessary in the business world to keep people ahead of the curve, since philosophy teaches people how to think outside the box.”

Richard Randall (B.A. ’71 and M.A. ’88) retired from the U.S. Army and now teaches philosophy at North Idaho College in Coeur d’Alene. He is considering pursuing a Ph.D. His thoughts on his training in philosophy and religion are that it provided an “excellent background/grounding on the ideas and values of much of our world,” and exposed him to the “great value in constructive and critical thought… especially in anti-reactionary thought and the possibilities of interdisciplinary thought and action.”

Mary Joan Stewart (B.S. ’54) retired from missionary service with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and currently serves as chaplain for Hospice Ministries in Richland, Miss. Regarding her studies here, Mary writes, “The main thing I learned was how to think and reason for myself rather than just accepting whatever I heard/learned as truth. Dr. Nau inspired and challenged me to do my best and to use my God-given abilities.”

Patrick Wallace (M.A. ’90): Patrick recently published a book of poetry, Broken Circle: Epistles of the Stranger (Llumina Press, 2003). The poems are about “the wanderings of a solitary figure who is known as the stranger.” This autobiographical figure is “a pilgrim in a world that is fallen and bewildering in its desolate complexity.”

Edison Williams (M.A. ’03): Edison is in the comparative literature Ph.D. program at LSU.

If you wish to add your own news, please click here to send us an email.

 

Department of Philosophy and Religion
Last modified: November 14, 2007 / Questions or comments?
The University of Southern Mississippi / URL: http://www.usm.edu/philrel/intro.html
AA/EOE/ADAI