Distinguished Professor Award, 2020
Philosophy
Academics specialize, and, increasingly, the more tightly focused the specialty is, the better. Who can command the literature in more than one specialty at a time? Professor Charlotte Witt, for one.
Professor Witt has established a world-class reputation in ancient philosophy, especially for her work on Aristotle, known for millennia for both his brilliance and his difficulty.Beginning with “A Mind of One’s Own: Feminist Essays on Reason and Objectivity,” co-edited with Louise Antony in 1992, Professor Witt also hascarved out a world-class reputation as a feminist metaphysician, a leading voice in the field. That book has gone through subsequent editions and even celebrations of its seminal contribution, yet it only marks the beginning of Witt’s editorial curation of the field.Her 2011 book“The Metaphysics of Gender” weaves together issues in feminist theory, metaphysics, moral psychology, ethics and political philosophy; it has spawned conferences and symposia and will soon be followed by a new book further exploring the being of norms and their meaning for human identity. Professor Witt’s international reputation has enhanced the stature of UNH around the globe.
Professor Witt also has taught fordecades in UNH’sinterdisciplinary humanities program, covering art, literature, history and science, opening up the whole world of the intellect for her students, and modeling for them not merely the communication of information but a truly reflective engagement with fundamental questions.She also has loved her work fostering thesis students and colleagues; she is an honest interlocutor who provides searching and substantive criticisms while simultaneously supporting their efforts and helping them realize their potential as writers, scholars and persons.
Thus, Charlotte Witt is much more than a distinguished professor: she is a treasured colleague, mentor and friend. One student writes,“Charlotte has a particular knack for making impossible concepts easy to grasp —whether that means Aristotle or your own ability to finish 80 pages of cohesive writing. Her scholarship and friendship have formed me as a writer and human. I’m so grateful for her and how working with her made me a braver, smarter, and more careful person.” A colleague enumerates the qualities that make Charlotte Witt a mentor extraordinaire: “respect for the person, gentleness and empowerment, all which inspire trust.It is not only that Charlotte says the right things; her supportive attitude is conveyed implicitly in how she is with me and how she is with our colleagues.”
We exult in honoring her.
About this Award
The purpose of this award is to identify and honor longstanding members of the UNH faculty. This singular university-wide award will be given each year to the faculty member whose overall record of excellent teaching, caring about students, devotion to the university community, and substantial record of scholarly achievement exemplifies what we would call a "distinguished longstanding career" at UNH. Each year there will be no more than one Distinguished Professor Award. Long-term UNH tenure-track faculty members at the rank of professor are eligible.
