J. Lee Whittington Named Dean of Gupta College of Business
Associate Professor of Management J. Lee Whittington, Ph.D., has taught at the college since 2000.
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Carolyn Rekerdres, M.D., BA '02
Who is your favorite philosopher?
Aristotle
What is your profession?
Community Psychiatrist
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
Having a nonscience major is a major plus when applying for medical school; it shows
flexibility in thinking and true range in intellect. When applying to residency, I
was told that my program director loved liberal arts majors from UD. UT Southwestern
is a top 10 program in the country, so that’s very high praise.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
At every level in my career, my philosophical education and thoughtful exploration
of the good life for man has been helpful. I am comfortable in intellectual discussions
with anyone. A foundation in philosophy is a commitment to living a life with purpose.
That’s helpful no matter what field you enter.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
This is a degree that prepares you for a lifetime of curiosity and competency. These
texts have been difficult for scholars throughout the ages. Tackling them at such
a young age is a challenge. Speaking as a woman, this accomplishment grew my confidence
in my own cognitive abilities. There was only one other female who was a philosophy
major when I studied at UD. Being able to succeed in a male-dominated intellectual
space at that time set me up for confidence in my abilities as a medical student and
later as a physician and as a mother too.
Mike Brock, Ph.D., LPC, BA ’70
Who is your favorite philosopher?
I much appreciate Kant’s humanistic ethics and the existentialists’ and phenomenologists’
emphasis on the importance of individual experience.
What is your profession?
Psychotherapist, Educator
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
It helped me focus on goals that served my passion for learning.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
It helps me stay focused on both the root causes of problems and the present inner
experience of my clients and, for my students, on both the theoretical and practical
elements discovered in the schools of psychotherapy.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
A teacher once told me (in a graduate history class) that if you take history (or
any academic subject) as far as it will go, you end up with philosophy, and if you
take philosophy as far as it will go, you end up with God. That was 45 years ago,
and it has stayed with me. Philosophy serves as a reminder to me that ultimate questions
matter. I think that has helped me stay focused on the big questions and avoid “majoring
in the minors.”
William Stigall, M.D., MA '09
Who is your favorite philosopher?
Thomas Aquinas
What is your profession?
Physician
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
The study of philosophy didn't help me start my career, but it was absolutely essential
in understanding the nature and limits of medicine. Galen said a physician who wasn't
also a philosopher is a mere conjurer. And he's right. Philosophy is absolutely essential
to the practice of medicine. I don't know how those without a background in philosophy
do it.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
Because of my philosophy education, I've served on bioethics committees and institutional
review boards, and been able to return to UD and teach. I've recently been promoted
to medical director of the Human Research Protection Program at Cook Children's Healthcare
System. I wouldn't have been able to do any of these (especially the last) without
my philosophy training.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
Philosophy allows access, answers and insights to life's biggest questions. The big
questions are big not only because they're important, but also because they're found
everywhere and affect everything. I don't know how laymen or medical professionals
navigate the issues of life and death, health and disease, happiness and wholeness
without a background in philosophy.
Michael Hayes, BA '12
Who is your favorite philosopher?
St. Augustine
What is your profession?
Lawyer
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
Short answer: Learned that I loved making and analyzing arguments. Longer answer:
I went to grad school for philosophy. Once I started a family, I realized that (in
all likelihood) philosophy couldn't pay the bills. What job would actually pay me
to read, write and analyze arguments? I went to law school — and my grad assistant
teaching job in the philosophy department helped get me through school.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
The focus on logic and clarity makes a huge difference in one's writing. Without that
emphasis, I would not have succeeded in law school.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
I keep on reading philosophy because I enjoy it — even though it's no longer "relevant"
for my career. (Oh, also: reading anything, but especially philosophy, from different
periods in history helps give one greater perspective on contemporary religious, political
and moral debates.)
Bill Betzen, BA '71
Who is your favorite philosopher?
Dr. Frederick Wilhelmson
What is your profession?
Social Work, Teacher, Child motivator
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
I started as a child abuse investigator for the state of Texas in Dallas County.
Having a solid foundation to work from was priceless. Every day I encountered tragic
human situations of life and death that had to be sorted out and resolved in the best
form possible.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
The study of human knowing helped in my graduate social work studies and the 28 years
I worked in child abuse investigations and child placement. Children must have their
history follow them. I pioneered open adoption, expanding it for Lutheran Social Services
of Texas and then working to change Catholic Charities of Dallas from being one of
the most closed, traditional adoption agencies in Dallas to being a leader in open
adoption. Along the way in 1993, we served more maternity clients than probably any
year in Dallas Catholic Charities history, helping over 80% of these clients prepare
a home for their child. In helping the one out of seven who made adoption plans for
her child, we helped her select and know the family she wanted for her child, and
we helped those families know their child's birth family. In 1993, Catholic Charities
placed more children than any year in 25 years! I have a wonderful Christmas photo
with most of these 33 children in it with their families and our bishop.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
In 2000 I joined my wife as a teacher, using the 1972 teaching certificate I received
from UD for the first time teaching in a high-poverty inner-city Dallas middle school.
In 2005 I helped start the School Time Capsule Project so students could both explore
their own history and have written plans for their own future. I retired in 2011 and
helped the School Time Capsule Project expand to 20 Dallas ISD schools: four high
schools, 10 middle schools and six elementary schools. If you go into a Dallas school
and see a 700-pound vault in the lobby, that is a Time Capsule School. Knowing their
family history and having plans for their future is the most valuable reality in the
lives of our students. That first middle school continues to always be one of the
highest performing middle schools in all of Dallas ISD. This past year they were again
the best of all 33 middle schools in spite of also being one of the five highest-poverty
middle schools in Dallas ISD. That is the power of knowing, a priceless lesson from
Dr. Wilhelmson, God rest his soul! This year Quintanilla Middle School will have their
sixth 10-year reunion when the eighth grade class of 2010 returns to pick up the letters
in the School Time Capsule Vault that they received from family and wrote to themselves
10 years ago. They then volunteer to return to Quintanilla on Career Day to speak
of their lives and life after Quintanilla, and the value of planning for their future.
Quintanilla had to replace their original vault this past year, as it has proven to
be too small. It was a 350-pound vault with only 16 cubic feet of space. They now
have a 700-pound vault with 43 cubic feet of room to better hold all the letters written.
That is the size now recommended in all schools.
This year Quintanilla Middle School will have their 6th 10-year reunion when the 8th
grade class of 2010 returns to pick up the letters in the School Time Capsule Vault
that they received from family and wrote to themselves 10 years ago. They then volunteer
to return to Quintanilla on Career Day to speak of their lives and life after Quintanilla,
and the value of planning for their future.
Quintanilla had to replace their original vault this past year as it has proven to
be too small. It was a 350 pound vault with only 16 cubic feet of space. They now
have a 700 pound vault with 43 cubic feet of room to better hold all the letters written.
That is the size now recommended in all schools.
Paul Schemel BA, '94
Who is your favorite philosopher?
St. Augustine
What is your profession?
Attorney/State Legislator
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
The study and practice of law requires you to read, analyze and write, all skills
honed through the study of philosophy. The volume of reading and writing required
of philosophy majors at UD gave me a significant advantage when I entered law school.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
Studying philosophy helps you learn to think critically, a skill that is important
in most professional careers. Having to write and follow a logical argument certainly
prepares you to better articulate your thoughts.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
Philosophy gives you circumspection or, perhaps more accurately, an appreciation for
the need to be circumspect in the way you approach questions. Getting to the heart
of a matter, and then seeing it from all sides continues to help me see beauty and
pursue the good.
Lisa Gabriel, BA ’90
Who is your favorite philosopher?
Aristotle
What is your profession?
Higher Education and Technology
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
N/A
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
N/A
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
My degree in philosophy helped hone my critical thinking skills, which is a crucial
element of success in today’s changing world. The required readings and all of the
writing instilled in me the ability to see a new problem and use past experiences
and past learning to determine a solution. It taught me to think ... or at least reinforced
that I knew how to think and refined my thinking process. This has played out throughout
my career.
Thomas Miovas BA, '87
Who is your favorite philosopher?
Ayn Rand
What is your profession?
Production Worker
How did the study of philosophy help you get started in your career (if it did)?
The fact that I had a degree got me a few more dollars per hour.
How does the study of philosophy help you excel in your career?
It keeps me levelheaded, like accepting the facts for what they are and living my
life according to the facts.
How does the study of philosophy continue to have benefits in your life beyond your
career?
Philosophy helps me to think things through, both the moral and the practical. It
leads me to be able to reason from several perspectives at the same time. I find this
to be helpful when caught up in a complicated situation.
Associate Professor of Management J. Lee Whittington, Ph.D., has taught at the college since 2000.
+ Read More“After earning my degrees, the doors blew right open for my career,” Wofford says.
+ Read MoreAs of today, over 1,900 University of Dallas alumni have banded together in the Forging Our Future challenge, unlocking a $200,000 challenge gift from an anonymous alumni couple.
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