University Scholar Award – Chris Diehm
Chris Diehm, winner of a University Scholar Award, "exemplifies the ideal of a 'public scholar,'' said Alice Keefe, professor and chair of the Department of Philosophy. His research in environmental philosophy reaches beyond academics to the wider community in multiple ways.
"He has brought leading voices in the field of environmental ethics to our campus, hosting nine major university speaker events over the past fifteen years," Keefe says. "These events attracted large audiences from the campus and the community and each of these speakers also visited his environmental ethics classes and seminars, providing a unique and valuable experience for the students."
Though he has published many topical essays on issues such as wolf hunting in Wisconsin, his most recent work is "Connection to Nature, Deep Ecology, and Conservation Social Science." The piece looks at human connectedness to nature through the lenses of deep ecological philosophy and conservation social science. It emphasizes the importance of seeing ourselves as a part of and related to the natural world, arguing that a sense of connection to nature is more crucial than many environmental advocates realize, and that philosophy contributes much to the increasingly pressing conversations that conservationists are having about it.
"Much of his research agenda has been shaped by his teaching, and his teaching has in turn been shaped by his research," said Keefe.
Keefe also notes Diehm's public presentations on environmental ethics in venues such as the College of Letters and Science Community Lecture Series and UW-Stevens Point LIFE program, as well as his term as a fellow for The Nature Conservatory. Diehm notes his research's interdisciplinary nature and inclusion of his students in his scholarship.
"Much of the work I do overlaps with other disciplines, and exploring these overlaps provides for a greater depth of analysis than I could achieve by focusing on philosophy alone," he said. "Though my publications follow a pattern typical of the humanities, in which single authorship is still the norm, I certainly regard students as collaborators, and the classroom as a forum for research."
See also:
Excellence in Teaching, Scholarship and Service Award - David Barry
Carolyn Rolfson Sargis Award - Tina Rajski
Excellence in Teaching Award - Lauren Gantz, Kyle Herrman, Kate Kipp, Erin Speetzen
University Scholar Award - Alex Ingersoll
University Service Award - Jennifer Collins, Shelly Janowski, Kathryn McGarry
Academic Staff Spirit of Community Service Award - Lisa Golda
Outstanding Work Performance Award - Janette Baumann, Corinna Neeb, Lisa Nelson, Heather Springer
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