OBU Alumnus and Former Harvard Professor Dr. Russell “Rusty” Jones to Speak at Philosophy Forum Nov. 15

November 12, 2019

Dr. Russell “Rusty” Jones, 2004 OBU graduate, is returning to Bison Hill to speak at the next Philosophy Forum Friday, Nov. 15. The Forum will take place in the Tulsa Royalties Auditorium in the Bailey Business Center on OBU’s campus in Shawnee from 4 to 5:15 p.m. Dr. Jones will speak on “The Real Challenge of Plato’s Republic,” drawing on his academic love for and study of the ancient Greek philosopher’s magnum opus. The event is free and open to the campus community and the public.

Philosophy Forums are intended to spark interest in and engagement with philosophical topics and issues that have broader rational and practical implications. The forum will engage students and should be thought provoking and illuminating. There will be a substantial time for questions after the lecture.

Jones graduated from OBU with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy, with college honors. He then pursued graduate studies in philosophy, earning a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. He taught in the Philosophy Department at Harvard University from 2010 to 2019. He then accepted a position as associate professor of philosophy at the University of Oklahoma. He and his wife Emily, a 2005 OBU alumna, have a four-year-old daughter named Bea.

The fifth and final philosophy forum of the fall semester will be held Friday, Dec. 6, featuring Dr. Tawa Anderson, associate professor of philosophy, and Leslie “Paige” Lehrmann, a senior math and apologetics double major. Together they will enter a mock debate, which will center on the topic “Does God Exist?”