The award is presented for the first time by the American Philosophical Association, the American Association of Philosophy Teachers and the Teaching Philosophy Association.
Stephen Bloch-Schulman, associate professor of philosophy, has been awarded the inaugural Excellence in Philosophy Teaching award from the American Philosophical Association, the American Association of Philosophy Teachers and the Teaching Philosophy Association.
The prize recognizes a philosophy teacher who has had an outstanding impact on student learning of philosophy in undergraduate settings, with Bloch-Schulman selected from among four finalists to receive the new prize.
The chair of the selection committee noted that “the committee was extremely impressed with the breadth and innovative nature of Dr. Stephen Bloch-Schulman’s teaching. His students and nominators note that his classes are unlike others; Stephen inquires with students. He shows students where and how to look, but he never tells them what to see.”
In nominating him, a colleague pointed to the strength and depth of Bloch-Schulman’s interactions with students. “Students who are lucky enough to be mentored by Stephen find themselves challenged by his rigorous questioning, but more importantly, they find themselves encouraged to discover and nurture their own philosophical voice,” the colleague wrote. “He expands a student’s horizons and engenders the desire and courage to produce works of excellence.”
Along with his role teaching and mentoring Elon students, Bloch-Schulman works with the Elon Academy, the university’s college access and success program for Alamance County students that has become a national model. He has published extensively in the scholarship of teaching and learning and previously received the American Association of Philosophy Teacher’s Mark Lenssen Award which is presented to the author of the best article on teaching philosophy during a two-year period.
“Stephen is a remarkably innovative teacher whose unrelenting commitment to student learning inspires students to produce philosophical work of the highest quality,” a colleague wrote in nominating him for the award. “His career is also marked by a consistent drive to ameliorate inequality and suffering. Stephen is a scholar of teaching and learning whose contributions have been influential at every level, from his regular university classes at Elon to the Elon Academy, a regional collaborative course he organized (Reclaiming Democracy), and very markedly in the philosophy profession at large.”
Bloch-Schulman joined Elon in 2006 and has served as chair of the Department of Philosophy since 2016. He received his doctorate in philosophy from Marquette University and came to Elon from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana.
Bloch-Schulman will receive the award in January at the 2018 APA Eastern Division meeting in Savannah, Georgia.