Visions of the Good in the Bronx Professors and Staff

Schedule and Syllabus | Dorm Life | Professors and Staff | Summer Application

Project Director: Dr. Stephen R. Grimm
The proposed Project Director, Stephen R. Grimm, is a Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University, where he has taught since 2008, after receiving his B.A. from Williams College and Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. He is series editor for the Oxford University Press line, "Guides to the Good Life," and is a Life Member of Clare Hall, Cambridge University.

Program Coordinator: Dr. Victoria (Vita) Emery
Dr. Vita Emery is a Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow at Fordham University, having received her B.A. in Philosophy from Colorado College and her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Fordham University in May of 2021. Her research centers on existential ethics, and as an instructor at Fordham she has taught several sections of Philosophy of Human Nature and Philosophical Ethics. Since 2018 she has volunteered with Re-Think, a program sponsored by Columbia University that facilitates philosophical discussions with formerly incarcerated youth as well as victims of domestic abuse.

Seminar Co-Leader for the summer of 2023: Dr. Lauren Kopajtic
Dr. Lauren Kopajtic is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. She received her Ph.D. in Philosophy from Harvard University, and before joining Fordham was a member of the Society of Fellows in the Humanities and Lecturer in Philosophy at Columbia University. She specializes in moral philosophy and literature in the long eighteenth century, working especially on David Hume, Adam Smith, and Jane Austen. She explores questions about the role of the emotions in our moral lives, with a special focus on empathy, emotional sincerity, and emotion regulation.

Seminar Co-Leader for the summer of 2023: Dr. Nicholas Smyth
Dr. Nicholas Smyth is an Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Fordham University. He received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from Brown University and also holds a degree in Political Science. He specializes in ethics, moral psychology and social philosophy. His research focuses on the issues of moral progress and moral history, the social nature of morality, and the conditions of a meaningful human life.

Psychology Department Expert on Youth Mentoring: Dr. Elizabeth Raposa
Dr. Elizabeth Raposa is an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Fordham University. Her research program explores the intersection of clinical and community psychology to design and evaluate intervention programs for youth from historically marginalized communities. Dr. Raposa will regularly offer afternoon workshops during the seminar.