David Drebushenko, Ph.D., Associate Professor

David Drebushenko (Ph.D, 1987, The Ohio State University). Following one year as a "visiting assistant professor of philosophy" (full time during the academic period of 1987-1988) and three years as a full time assistant professor at Central Michigan University, Drebushenko (with not a moment to spare) was appointed to a tenure track post at The University of Southern in 1991. He received tenure and promotion to the rank of associate professor in 1995. His interests in philosophy include: the history of early modern philosophy, contemporary philosophy of the mind and metaethics.

Garret Merriam, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Garret Merriam received his Ph.D from Rice University in 2008.  His dissertation, entitled "Virtue Ethics and the Moral Significance of Animals," attempted to develop an Aristotelian account of moral psychology with regard to how humans treat non-human animals, especially with regard to factory farms and medical experimentation. Before coming to USI in August of 2008 he taught philosophy at Lone Star College in Kingwood, Texas.

Dr. Merriam's research interests include applied ethics, ethical theory and moral psychology. He is especially interested in animal ethics, virtue theory and the philosophy of emotion. He has published papers on the ethics of animal research, regenerative medicine and the philosophy of disability.

Dr. Merriam has taught classes in applied ethics, moral theory, the history of philosophy, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of science, social and political philosophy and the philosophy of mind.

Richard Mussard, Ph.D., Associate Professor

(Ph.D., Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), 1969). In 1968 I came to what was then called Indiana State University, Evansville, as the first full time philosopher on the young campus. In 1969 I completed my final work on the doctorate and received my Ph.D. from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. I was promoted to Associate Professor in 1973. I have been a continuous member of the faculty of ISUE and USI to the present time. During the seventies and the eighties, I was the only full time philosopher teaching in the philosophy program, and taught most of the typical courses offered in the curricula of philosophy departments. I taught introductory courses in philosophy, ethics and logic, along with courses in the history of philosophy. I also offered courses in epistemology, metaphysics, the philosophy of religion, the philosophy of history and the philosophy of science. 

My current teaching duties are focused on the following courses: The Introduction to Philosophy, The Western Tradition in Philosophy I/History of Philosophy I, Bioethics, and Epistemology. The Introduction to Philosophy and the course in Bioethics are both part of the Ethics Category of the University Core Curriculum. The course in the Western Tradition in Philosophy I, is offered under the Humanities Category of the University Core Curriculum. The History of Philosophy I and Epistemology are course within the Philosophy major. I also teach a senior level synthesis course (LIBA 497) on Wisdom, which is part of the University Core Curriculum. I also offer a version of this course, as a Capstone Seminar (LBST698), for the Masters of Liberal Studies Program, a USI graduate program. 

My primary research interest is in providing an analysis of wisdom built on a critical evaluation of the various ideas of wisdom in Western Thought. I particularly aim at devising methods by which we can detect the presence or absence of wisdom in the thought and conduct of one's self or others. I include devising methods and strategies by which one can overcome the various forms of human folly and become wise. 

In my residence at USI during its formative decades I have served on a wide-ranging number of university committees. One of the most significant of these committees was the committee that led to formation of the current University Core Curriculum.

Mary Stoll, Ph.D., Assistant Professor

Mary Lyn Stoll received her PhD in philosophy from Purdue University in 2002.  Her dissertation dealt with moral obligation in a global economy focusing upon the environment, the poor, and ways in which businesses can help or hinder us in meeting moral obligations.  Dr. Stoll taught at Minnesota State University, Mankato and at Muskingum College prior to joining USI in August of 2005. 

 Dr. Stoll’s research interests include ethics, applied ethics, and in social and political philosophy.  She is especially interested in corporations and free speech rights, globalization, the environment, and business ethics.  I have published several articles in business ethics on marketing ethics and on corporations and free speech rights. 

Dr. Stoll is also interested in logic, existentialism, phenomenology, American pragmatism, and feminist philosophy.  At USI, she teaches introductory ethics, introduction to philosophy, contemporary philosophy, political and legal philosophy, and logic and critical thinking. Dr. Stoll has taught courses in environmental ethics, media ethics, animal ethics, the ethics of globalization, existentialism, religions of the East, and a course on metaphysics and epistemology at other institutions.