The faculty of the Philosophy department have a long history of mentoring their students in both formal and informal settings. For years, we have served as faculty mentors for Honors projects, McNair projects, and summer undergraduate research projects. More recently, faculty from the department have also worked with students taking advantage of Early Undergraduate Research Opportunity (EURO) scholarships.
There are also three programs unique to our department that place faculty in important mentoring relationships with students: the Department's Faculty-Student Colloquium, the Department's involvement with the Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl, and the faculty-student group WIP (Women in Philosophy).
The Faculty-Student Colloquium was established in Spring 2006 by Dr. Blessing to provide both faculty and students with opportunities to present their research. In the Fall, Faculty make presentations and work closely with students who offer commentary on these presentations. In the Spring, students, under the guidance of particular faculty members, develop and present their thoughts on various philosophical topics and comment on each other's work.
Since 2009 Dr. Cole has been coaching students to participate in the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics' Intercollegiate Ethics Bowl. Each Fall, Dr. Cole works closely with between three and twelve students to help them prepare for discussing fifteen case studies in practical and professional ethics with representatives of schools from across the northeast. In Fall 2012, one of Buffalo State's teams did so well that we were able to participate in the 2013 national ethics bowl in San Antonio, TX. Students who are interested in this opportunity should take PHI 351: Ethics Bowl and/or join the USG club, Ethics Bowl.
Concerned by the underrepresentation of women in philosophy, in 2012-2013, Drs. Blessing and Duffy decided to introduce a mentoring program for women in philosophy at Buffalo State. This group meets two or three times each semester to discuss both philosophical issues and issues that women face in philosophy.
