Philosophy professor and department head Christopher Yeomans has been selected as Purdue University’s next Justin S. Morrill Dean of the College of Liberal Arts.
Yeomans, head of Purdue’s Department of Philosophy since 2017 and a faculty member since 2009, succeeds David Reingold, who became chancellor of Indiana University in June.
“The liberal arts at Purdue are exceptionally well positioned to take their next giant leap under Chris’ leadership,” said Provost Patrick Wolfe. “A highly regarded scholar and consistently recognized collaborator across campus, Chris will help guide the college to play an instrumental role in several key Purdue priorities, from artificial intelligence and critical thinking, to civics education and our burgeoning main campus presence in the heart of Indianapolis.”
Yeomans’ selection follows a national search launched in May and led by Jim Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Daniels School of Business and Distinguished Professor of Economics.
“All of my degrees are from large public research universities, and Purdue has been my home for more than 16 years,” Yeomans said. “The College of Liberal Arts gave me the support to launch and sustain my research program and the resources to help build one of the most exciting philosophy departments in the world. I am honored to have the opportunity to lead the College of Liberal Arts at this exciting time and pay it forward to the alumni, students, staff and faculty of the college.”
Yeomans, who earned his PhD at the University of California, Riverside, is the author of four monographs with Oxford and Cambridge University Presses focusing on the history of German philosophy and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, as well as the politics of German idealism at the turn of the 19th century.
His work has been supported by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the National Science Foundation, among others. Yeomans also teaches courses for Purdue’s Cornerstone program, a nationally recognized point of pride by which Purdue is helping renew American liberal arts education, and which is being adopted by more than 80 colleges and universities worldwide.
