ASA Announces Election of New Trustees

The American Society for Aesthetics announces three new trustees elected by the ASA membership. They will serve three-year terms from February 1, 2024 to January 31, 2027. 

• John Dyck is Lecturer in Philosophy at Auburn University. His research focuses on philosophy of music, philosophy of film, and the border between aesthetic value and aesthetic agency. He has published in Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, European Journal of Philosophy, British Journal of Philosophy, and JAAC. John has organized or co-organized both divisional (Eastern) ASA meetings and ASA-funded conferences, including the Graduate Conference in Aesthetics. John believes that, at its best, the ASA provides an excellent model of academic community. He would help to build opportunities for early-career researchers within that community, so that we can keep welcoming new people in. He would advocate for non-tenure-track faculty. His goals for the ASA include (1) greater engagement with aestheticians and aesthetics groups outside of the United States; (2) more interdisciplinary engagement; (3) more engagement surrounding issues in popular culture, to highlight the profile of aesthetics for inclusivity and outreach.
  
  
• Saul Fisher is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Associate Provost for Research, Grants, and Academic Initiatives at Mercy University (NY). He received his PhD from the CUNY Graduate Center, MA from Rice University, and AB from Columbia University. Previously, Fisher was Associate Provost and Adjunct Associate Professor of Philosophy at Hunter College; Director of Fellowship Programs of the American Council of Learned Societies; and program officer at The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Fisher’s research focuses on philosophy of architecture—for which he was awarded a Graham Foundation grant (2009)—and on intersects of aesthetics with social and behavioral science. He has reviewed for JAAC, served on the ASA 2015 Annual Meeting Program Committee, and currently chairs the ASA Diversity Committee.   His institutional priorities for the ASA include fiscal care and effectiveness; collaboration with scholarly partner organizations and individuals; internationalization; and inclusive diversity in all dimensions.
  
  
• Elizabeth Scarbrough (she/they) is an associate teaching professor at Florida International University. Scarbrough's research has focused on the beauty of immovable cultural heritage (such as ruins). This research has been published as journal articles (The Philosopher's Magazine, JAAC, Journal of Applied Philosophy), in book chapters (e.g., Philosophical Perspectives on Ruins, Monuments, and Memorials), and in more public-facing work (e.g., in Aesthetics for Birds). Recent work on the ethics and aesthetics of racist monuments has been published in The Philosopher's Magazine and Aesthetics for Birds. Current projects include work on perfume and memory, architectural preservation, cinematic experience, and tourism and gender. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Feminist Caucus Committee for the ASA and has served as co-chair for the ASA’s Southern Aesthetics Workshop. They also worked in audio engineering and as a 35 mm projectionist at art house cinemas in the Pacific Northwest.  elizabethscarbrough.com

Thanks to all the nominees who stood for election and to all the ASA members who voted.

Ivan Gaskell, C. Thi Nguyen, and Aili Whalen will complete their terms as trustees on January 31, 2024. In December 2024, the members of ASA will elect two new trustees and a new Vice-President. 

American Society For Aesthetics
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