About your hosts for
the Society for the Advancement of American Philosophy
35th Annual Conference
Based in East Lansing, Michigan, Michigan State University enrolled 46,045 undergraduate and graduate students in the Fall Semester of 2007 and has a faculty of approximately 4,800 in 17 academic colleges. Founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, MSU advertises itself as the prototype institution for the land grant university system established by the Morrill Act of 1862. MSU collegiate sports teams compete in the Big Ten Conference.
The Department of Philosophy at MSU
The MSU Department of Philosophy offers the Ph. D. and M.A. degree. Departmental strengths include philosophy of medicine and social and political philosophy, including feminism and environmental philosophy. The Department supports a number of interdisciplinary graduate specializations and is the home for a concentration in “Ethics and Development.” The Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index (based upon book and article publications and scholarly citations) ranks the faculty in philosophy at MSU first in the United States. A summary appears in the January 12, 2007 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education: http://chronicle.com/stats/productivity. In addition, the Society for Women in Philosophy UK has listed the MSU Department among the very few it judges women-friendly on the basis of reports of practices such as efforts to redress gender balance and support for women in philosophy and feminist philosophy.
Other activities on campus
While on campus during the week of the SAAP meeting, delegates may wish to visit the MSU Museum which will be hosting exhibits on “Quilts and Human Rights,” and on WPA arts programs from the depression era.
The Kresge Art Museum will be featuring exhibits of prints by Max Klinger and works on paper by impressionist artists including Pierre Bonnard, Mary Cassatt, Edgar Degas, Toulouse Lautrec, Paul Cezanne and Vincent Van Gogh.
Weather permitting, you can take a walk through the Beal Garden or along the Red Cedar River, which runs right behind our conference venue.
You can also enjoy a jazz concert by the San Francisco Jazz Collective at the Wharton Center on March 12. (Be sure to buy your tickets in advance at http://www.whartoncenter.com .)
March weather
Michigan weather can be tricky in March. Be prepared for cold or rainy weather out doors, but also for the chance of an invigorating walk through an early spring snow. Average high temperature is 48°, while average low temperature is 35°. Information on driving to MSU, as well as campus photos, maps and a wealth of facts on programs and activities can be found on the MSU website at http://www.msu.edu.