Philosophy Department History

The Philosophy Department was one of the original programs on the UCCS campus.  In 1966, one year after the university received the Cragmor acreage, philosophy was established as part of the Boulder department’s offerings under the leadership of Resident Dean Richard Francis.  From its origins as a branch department, the UCCS Philosophy Program soon became an independent department offering the major in Philosophy.

The Philosophy Department has an exceptionally broad range of courses. We see ourselves as unique in the western states because of this. The program is historically-based with detailed courses in four periods in the history of philosophy and full coverage of Eastern traditions. We offer courses in all traditional areas, such as Metaphysics, Ethics, and Epistemology, and many courses on the cutting edge of their disciplines, such as Philosophy, Globalization, and Sustainability. We offer an undergraduate major, a minor and specialized tracks Religion, Classics, and Culture; Justice and Global Studies; Cognition, Science, Phenomenology, and Linguistics; Culture, Media, and the Arts(for more information, see Program page). The department requires of each of our majors the writing of an undergraduate thesis as the capstone of undergraduate experience.

Currently there are five tenure-track faculty.  Mary Ann Cutter (Chair and Professor) specializes in Ethics, Biomedical Ethics, Philosophy of Medicine, and Philosophy of Religion. Dorothea Olkowski (Professor) specializes in Continental Philosophy, Feminist Philosophy, and Philosophy of Science. Raphael Sassower (Professor) specializes in Postmodern Philosophy of Science, Social and Political Philosophy, and Philosophy of Art. Rex Welshon (Professor) specializes in Philosophy of Mind, Analysis of Consciousness, and Logical Theory. Sonja Tanner (Assistant Professor) specializes in Ancient Greek Philosophy, History of Philosophy, and Philosophy of Art. Full-time instructors are Lorraine M. Arangno, who specializes in Logic and Ethics. Patrick Yarnell specializes in Ethical Theory and Analytic Philosophy. Chris Frakes specializes in Social and Political Philosophy. Mary JaneSullivan specializes in History of Philosophy and Media Theory. Jeff  Scholes specializes in Philosophy of Religion and World Religions. Erik Hanson focuses on Philosophy of Religion, Nineteenth Century Philosophy, Existentialism, and Philosophy and Technology. Allison Postell specializes in Ethics and Ancient Philosophy. Jennifer Jensen specializes in metaphysics, free will, and philosophy of religion. (For contact information for any of these faculty members, click on Contact Us.)