Randall Curren, who holds dual appointments at the University's Margaret Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development, and the Department of Philosophy, is the new president of the Association for Philosophy of Education. He will serve a two-year term.
The Association for Philosophy of Education is a satellite organization of the American Philosophical Association, the main professional organization for philosophers in the United States. The APE is an organization of about 100 members who research and teach issues in philosophy of education.
"There has been a resurgence of interest in philosophy of education in recent years, owing in part to the controversies surrounding both public schooling and higher education," said Curren, an associate professor at the University of Rochester. "Philosophers are more inclined than they were a generation ago to concern themselves with the nitty-gritty of how public institutions function and how they might be improved, and they bring a variety of analytical techniques to bear on the issues these institutions face.
"This reorientation within professional philosophy and the recent intensity of national interest in such topics as school choice, educational testing and standards, and 'political correctness' in the universities have converged to produce a renaissance in philosophy of education," Curren said.
For the last four years, Curren has been one of three divisional vice presidents of the association. He is an educational consultant and the only philosopher in the United States whose teaching and research are divided equally between philosophy and education.