Philosophy Department 100th Anniversary

On September 11, 1923, The Pennsylvania State Faculty Bulletin announced that the Board of Trustees had established a Department of Philosophy within the College of the Liberal Arts. While “moral and intellectual philosophy” had been part of the curriculum of the Farmer’s High School as early as 1859, the newly formed department was designed to offer specific instruction in the areas of “philosophy, logic, and ethics.” The faculty initially consisted of two members. The first was Edwin W. Runkle, who was appointed in 1893 to the now named Pennsylvania State College as an instructor in philosophy and ethics; he then served as head of philosophy from 1923 to 1938. The second faculty member was Ray H. Dotterer, who subsequently served in the same position from 1938 to 1947. From the year of its foundation the department offered a bachelor of arts and master of arts curriculum to students at Penn State University Park, and in 1959, under the headship of John M. Anderson, it began its ongoing doctorate program. Over the last one hundred years, the department has been home to almost 140 faculty members and has trained generations of scholars contributing internationally to the field of philosophy.

What follows is an annual list of faculty appointments and turning points in the department’s history. Included on this list are the names of all the department’s faculty members who have served at the University Park campus, some of whom, for reasons unknown, were not included in the department’s fiftieth anniversary program. As these women were active in the department as early as 1958, it is only fitting that they be acknowledged with the rest of the tenure-track and teaching faculty.