UMW Philosophy Professor Wins Service Award
Craig Vasey, professor of philosophy at the University of Mary Washington, has been recognized with the J. Christopher Bill Outstanding Faculty Service Award for his contributions to the university as well as involvement and leadership in the community.
“He has an impressive and extensive record of service,” said Douglas Sanford, professor of historic preservation, who presented the award at an open faculty session Thursday, Aug. 22.
Vasey, who joined the university in 1986, has been an integral part of the establishment of women and gender studies curriculum at UMW. He also has served as chairperson of the Department of Classics, Philosophy, and Religion since 1998.
Vasey, an expert on race theory, contemporary French philosophy and feminist philosophy, edited and translated Jean-Paul Sartre’s fourth volume of “Roads of Freedom” into a book “The Last Chance – Roads of Freedom IV.” Vasey’s book, published in 2009, is the first English translation of this unfinished Sartre work. He has spoken at conferences across the country and has led UMW’s annual commemoration of the Virginia Statute of Religious Freedom.
Vasey was co-director of Mary Washington’s Race and Gender Curriculum Development Project for eight years. He also has served on numerous university committees, including the University Faculty Council, the Faculty Senate, the James Farmer Visiting Professorship Committee and the Steering Committee for the Strategic Plan.
Outside of UMW, Vasey is on the board of directors for Fredericksburg’s Sister City, Association and is a founding member of the Maury Neighborhoods Association. He also is a member of the Virginia Humanities Conference, the Virginia Women’s Studies Association, the Society for Phenomenological and Existential Philosophy and the American Philosophical Association. He is the president of the Virginia Conference of the AAUP and was elected to a three-year term on the AAUP’s National Council.
Vasey received a bachelor’s degree from Towson State College, a doctorate from the Université de Paris-Nanterre and a Ph.D. from Brown University.
An endowment that funds the service award was established through the generosity of the former students, colleagues, friends and family of the late Christopher Bill, professor of psychology. The award recognizes Bill’s extraordinary service as a member of the UMW teaching faculty from 1972 to 2001. Bill died in December 2001.
The selection criteria for the award stipulates that the recipient must have served a minimum of seven years as a member of the Mary Washington teaching faculty and must have been heavily and consistently involved in a variety of service capacities, including departmental, university-wide and community service. Nominations may be submitted by any member of the teaching faculty, staff or student body of the university.