Students

I’ve had the good fortune of working with some wonderful students. This part of my job makes it feel more like a vocation.

I am presently advising PhD candidates Andrew Gill, George Kassimis, Caelan Knapp, Damian Masterson, and Yulin Wu.

Some of my past graduate advisees at UAlbany:
Ed Dubois, PhD
Dissertation: The Case for Character: A Reply to Situationism (2013)
Marius Pascale, PhD
Dissertation: The Paradox of Pleasurable Fear and the Moral Significance of Macabre (2016)
Kathleen Whipple, PhD
Dissertation: The Concept of Human Dignity and its Applications to Bioethics (2016)
Will Kidder, PhD
Dissertation: Empathy as Evidence in Moral Inquiry (2021)
Saleh Afroogh, PhD
Dissertation: Trust in Artificial Intelligence (2023)
Scott Wolcott
Dissertation: Responsibility for Moral Character
Tragically, Scott died before defending his dissertation. Scott was a beloved teacher, devoted husband, and dear friend of mine.
Damien Masterson, MA (2020)
Thesis: Against Bloom: A Defense of Fellow Feeling
Alex Quellhorst, MA (2023)
Thesis: Do You Think This Is Some Kind Of Game?
Sean Chung, MA (2023)
The Gratitude Trap

Psychology PhD’s whose committees I’ve served on:
Zoe Fowler, PhD (2025) The Future We Imagine Together: The Role of Collaborative Imagination in Social, Emotional, and Creative Lives (2025)
Kyle Fiore Law , PhD (2024) Compassion Cartography: Mapping the Psychological Landscape of Altruistic Equity and Effectivenes (2024)

I’ve served as an external committee member or external examiner for:
Ritsaart Reimann  Trustworthiness as a Virtue (Macquarie University, Australia, 2021)
Johnny Brennan Trust: A Paradigm-Based Explanation (Fordham, 2021)
Kelly Cunningham Matters of Trust (Vanderbilt, 2024)
Eli Benjamin Israel A Relational Theory of Trust (Temple, 2026)

In my former role as Director of Undergraduate Studies, I had the privilege of advising hundreds of undergraduate students who have gone on to careers in law, business, medicine, counseling, technology, and academia.

Like most professors, I love hearing from past students. If you are one of them, drop me a line!